Never Hit a Ghost With a Baseball Bat

Jo-Beth and Mary Rose Mysteries #5

by Eth Clifford

Jo-Beth wasn't ready for a scary birthday!

Jo-Beth and her sister, Mary Rose, thought their visit to an old museum was going to be boring. But when the girls arrive, they find out that the museum is haunted!

Mary Rose and Jo-Beth don't believe it at first--but then they discover that the museum mannikins seem to be coming to life!

Are the mannikins ghosts? Do they like birthday cake? Mary Rose and Jo-Beth find out--but they have to make it through the scariest day of their lives first!

Genres: Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 1993

About the author

Eth Clifford was born in New York City in 1915. She and her husband, David Rosenberg, started David-Stewart Publishing Company. Her first book for children was published in 1959 and since that time she wrote numerous books for children and young adults. She was also known as Eth (or Ethel) Clifford Rosenberg, and as published under the name Ruth Bonn Penn, and with her husband under David Clifford. Eth Clifford died in 2003

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Rose Onetree (age eleven) and her sister Jo-Beth (eight) are no strangers to mystery. They've happened upon their share of puzzlers before Never Hit a Ghost with a Baseball Bat, but their investigative skills will be tested in new ways this time. The day after Jo-Beth's birthday, the girls' father takes them to a museum of vintage trolley cars that's soon to host its grand opening. Mr. Onetree, a professional writer, wants to do a piece on the museum before it opens to the public. Mary Rose and Jo-Beth aren't thrilled about spending the day here, but as long as they have to be at the museum, they take themselves on a tour of the facility. They don't anticipate that their exploration will turn into a ghost mystery.

The main museum hall is filled with trolleys of every size and style, an atmospheric arena for the adventure to come. Hoot Turner, a museum employee, warns Mary Rose and Jo-Beth of eerie happenings in the building lately. Jo-Beth wants to turn right around and find their father, but Mary Rose isn't scared. She doesn't waver even when they find that each trolley contains an exhibit of lifelike mannikins, some of which have glowing eyes and talk. This can be explained by animatronics, but what about when the mannikins engage the two girls in detailed conversations that couldn't be preprogrammed? Mary Rose and Jo-Beth happen upon a five-year-old boy in one trolley who doesn't seem like a mannikin (or, as Jo-Beth would say, a boykin). Mary Rose is convinced he's the key to the mystery, and tries to chase him down.

Ghostly incidents increase as the girls close in on the boy, but Mary Rose won't give up. She'll prove to Jo-Beth and Hoot Turner there's nothing paranormal in this museum if it takes all night to catch the boy and make him tell the truth. But could the solution to the mystery be more complicated than Mary Rose expects? She and her sister might end up not as ghost hunters, but citizens wanting to do a good turn for a fellow human once all is revealed about the trolley museum haint. One way or another, you can count on Mary Rose and Jo-Beth to crack the case and set things right.

Eth Clifford writes humor well, and that's a strength of Never Hit a Ghost with a Baseball Bat. Jo-Beth's insistence that the woman mannikins be called "ladykins" and the children "girlkins" and "boykins" is a cute, chuckle-worthy motif that runs through the story. Some logistics of the mystery might be iffy, but I'd rate this book at least one and a half stars, maybe two, and you'll have fun with it if you want to. I plan on reading more of Eth Clifford's Jo-Beth and Mary Rose mysteries. Even if there are no boykins or ladykins in them, the books are sure to be a good time.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.