Noah McNichol and the Backstage Ghost

by Martha Freeman

Sylvie Frank at S&S/Wiseman has acquired Noah McNichol and the Backstage Ghost by Martha Freeman. In the middle grade novel, Noah's theater teacher literally (and ironically) breaks her leg and the drama club is left bereft of a director for their No-Trauma-Drama production of Hamlet. The perfect person to take on such a task is Noah's grandfather, but there's just one problem: he's a ghost. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Jennifer Mattson at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author for world rights.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens

Unknown Binding

First published January 26, 2021

About the author

Martha Freeman was born in Southern California in 1956. It is not actually true that pterodactyls ruled the skies then, but her three children believe this.

Martha graduated from Glenoaks Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, and Glendale High School. Until Martha came along, Glendale High's most famous graduate was a fellow named Marion Michael Morrison. He later went into the film game and changed his name to John Wayne, which you might very well do, too, if you were a boy named Marion in unenlightened times. In 1978, Martha graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history. She remains Stanford's most illustrious graduate if not its most wealthy.
Stink Bomb Mom

Martha's First Book.

Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter, and freelance magazine writer before she found her true calling as a writer of children's books in 1994. Her first book was "Stink Bomb Mom," now, tragically, out of print. She has since published 14 more books for children and as you read this, she is probably working on another one. Besides writing and visiting schools to talk to students, Martha teaches occasional classes at Penn State University, volunteers as an emergency medical technician, and works for a wonderful little company called Wall Street Communications. She is a very busy person.

Reviews

[Nikita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noah and his college professors lived in a white collage east of town when Noah was a baby they moved to the city, Noah loved theater and acting he loved it some much that every year he would audition which his best freind for the plays. In 6th grade Noah and Clyde his best friend auditioned for the Shakespeare play and In theater you say break a leg Noah’s theater teacher actually broke her leg. The gym teacher is there new teacher and all he is worried about is his phone, and there new teacher might be a ghost what should Noah do?? Find out read Noah Mcnichol and the backstage Ghost.

[sayitwithasmile · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute middle grade novel, perfect for any budding theater fans. Noah McNichol is a sixth grader who is about to embark on the famous sixth grade drama production at his school (perhaps a K-6 as it seems the sixth graders rule the school here). After the usual teacher breaks her leg on Broadway (... the street, not the entity), the production is put into the hands of the gym teacher who seems more focused on his wedding planning side business. Luckily, a mysterious gentleman appears and is able to steer the production to success... except he may be a ghost!

There were a few overarching life lessons that I enjoyed in this book, mainly that children can handle mature topics and no-drama Shakespeare, or any truncated art form, is the stupidest thing ever (the fact that sixth graders are doing Shakespeare and do so year after year is itself impressive). There was also great inclusion of different theatrical roles like stage manager and light/sound booth. Noah also learns a little humility after not getting cast as Hamlet. However, there was some subtle racism towards Fuli, a Nepalese immigrant who moved to town the year after Noah. When she expressed interest in playing Hamlet, Noah kept commenting both out loud and to himself that she "doesn't look very Danish" and despite eventually coming around, I wish there was more accountability for the ickiness of his statement from his parents (to whom he confessed this).

Overall, this was a cute book that would reach it's target demographic - young kids aged 9-12 - well. It focuses deeply on theater kids which I feel is unusual for a middle grade novel and I enjoyed that aspect a lot.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

11yo Noah is a theater kid. His drama teacher, Miss Magnus, actually breaks her leg just before rehearsals begin for the 6th-grade play Hamlet. Coach Fig is put in charge, but rather than directing, he only sort of supervises - he has a side job as a wedding planner. When a strange old man named Mike, who seems to have theater experience, the show might just be saved. But, who is Mike, and why does he disappear? Maybe Mike is a ghost!

I love 'Let's put on a show" books. Especially when the kids have to pull together and make it happen. I loved that it didn't turn into a free for all farce, and I also loved that it gave a realistic picture of all the moving parts of creating a production, including the stage manager and the tech people. Theater kids are really going to like Noah McNichol and the Backstage Ghost. Noah is white, but he has a diverse set of friends.

cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com and http://kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeman delivers a rollicking, laugh-out-loud funny look at the travails of a group of sixth-grade actors trying to launch a production of Hamlet. Their original director is out of commission from a broken leg, her replacement spends all his time glued to his cell phone for his sideline business as a wedding planner, and his new assistant just might be . . . a ghost? Protagonist Noah delivers the tale in a first-person narration that has plenty of pre-teen sarcastic humor but even more heart: he's committed to making the production a success even as he navigates daunting peer dynamics and family tensions between his English professor mom who adores Shakespeare and his physicist professor dad who claims to think theater is mere fluff. Plot twists abound, pratfalls are plentiful, and the Bard of Avon is given full honors in this delightful middle-grade mystery.

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noah is part of a 6th grade theater group rehearsing and then staging Hamlet in 7 weeks. A ghost is the director. The identity of the ghost is part of the twist so I won't spoil it.
I found the writing to sound a bit like a middle aged adult trying to write as a middle schooler. As a parent of a 6th grader, the dialogue just seemed a bit forced and/or unrealistic (never mind the actual idea of a group of 6th graders actually doing Shakespeare's Hamlet). I just couldn't get into it.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, comedic middle grade novel about a group of sixth grade drama students that put on a showing of Hamlet...as directed by a ghost!

I honestly didn't expect this to be a true "ghost" story. I don't think I've ever read a comedic, middle grade ghost story before! It wasn't extremely memorable or fabulous, but it was cute and enjoyable overall.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noah McNichol and the Backstage Ghost was quite a lot of fun! It's humorous and quick-paced, with plenty of fun theater details and a large and likable set of characters. Topics like censorship and race-blind casting are also discussed (though I would have liked to have seen a bit more resolution to Noah's comments that Fuli doesn't look like a Hamlet).

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5
Un middle grade per bambini un po' più piccoli, nonostante parli e citi Shakespeare in continuazione, perfino troppo.
Un gruppo di bambini di 11 anni deve portare Amleto come recita scolastica, dopo una serie di disguidi si presenta un signore, un fantasma.
Quello che non ho apprezzato è il fatto che tutti sappiano che c'è un fantasma, e nessuno batte ciglio. Un po' inverosimile anche far recitare tutto l'Amleto, più di due ore, a 6 o 7 bambini di 11/12 anni. Il testo è difficile anche per noi adulti, imparare tutte quelle battute a memoria, con alcuni bambini, come il protagonista Noah, che avevano più ruoli. Possono benissimo esserne capaci, ma è forse un po' troppo.
Se non vi piace il teatro o Shakespeare sarà difficile farvi piacere questo titolo.

[Emily Masters · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little cutesy, but I do think kids would enjoy it.