The Ghost of Five Owl Farm

by Wilson Gage

50 years old! Paperback. 147 pages.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult

147 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Wilson Gage is the pen name of Mary Q. Steele, the newest writer in a family of gifted and successful writers: her husband, William, her sister, and her mother, Christine Govan, are the authors of many popular books for children and young people.

Reviews

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last time I read this book I was probably in the fourth grade. Twenty-five years later, I remembered exactly three things about it:

1) The cover was purple and had owls on it (on the hardcover edition).
2) There was a ghost that was seen "greeping" around the farm.
3) I was constantly signing it out of the school library because I loved it so much.

Now, as an adult, I found a used paperback copy and couldn't wait to read it again. The first thing that surprised me was how short it is. It's a tiny book, only about 150 pages long. It only took about two hours to read, leisurely strolling from cover to cover.

Upon rereading it, I can see why I liked it so much as a kid. The story is not a comedy, but it is funny. Most (if not all) of the comedy comes from the twins, Winkie and Bobbin--two skinny, pale, completely bizarre kids who the main character is forced to endure over his week-long school break. These characters are remarkable in that they are not wacky or stupid, but just so incredibly weird that it's as if they just don't belong in our world, but make sense in their own.

The story itself, with its mysterious greeping ghost, ends like a Scooby-Doo episode, but considering that its first printing predated Scooby-Doo by three years, that's not necessarily a strike against it.

This is a great book to share with your kids, and if you don't have kids but are interested in unique characterization, it's worth checking out just for Winkie and Bobbin.

[Ann aka Iftcan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute but dated mystery. 11 1/2 year old Ted is like any other tweenie, in that he looks down on his younger cousins, Bobbin and Winkie. He and his father hatch a plan to give the twins a "mystery" to solve in order to give Ted a little time to himself while they are visiting over Spring Break. Unfortunately, as it turns out--Dad doesn't get a chance to do his part, altho Ted isn't aware of this. So the fake mystery turns into a real mystery.

However, there were problems with the book--a stay-at-home Mom who is such a forgetful cook that she occassionally puts potentially dangerous items into her food, a couple of kids who are so far beyond absentminded that you'd think that they were suffering from split personalities.

And, in addition, a truly simplistic mystery plot. But then again--the book IS 47 years old, and well, lets admit it, things back then were a lot more innoucent. No TV over-load, no computers, no smart-phones, no digital cameras. . . But it will give kids a good view at what life was like for their grandparents and, to a lesser extent, possibly even their parents.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always love the books written in the 1960s, so much fun.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book from the 60's that I tend to prefer. Nice wrap up.

[Katie Chase]

KIRKUS: /* Starred Review */ In the monotonous world of juvenile mysteries the protagonists are usually trying to figure out who threw the jewels in the pool instead of filing their insurance claims, or discovering the hidden stair long after the youngest reader would know it's there, or plodding to the unstartling solution of who put the rare scrimshaw letter opener in the valuable ugly vase grandma mislaid. The form is made ridiculous by its general lack of humor and disreputable by its child or adolescent direction of adult events. The Ghost of Five Owl Farm is therefore particularly pleasant to come upon. It combines the creepier elements of a ghost story, the suspense of unexplainable evening manifestations emanating from the barn, and the mystery is solved both as a matter of detection and a comedy of errors. Ted has his summer burdened with the presence of his younger twin cousins on the new farm his parents recently acquired. Their dialogue speeds the pleasure and their three-way interference slows-up their solution in this atypical mystery for younger readers. Miss Gage has handled affectionate cousinly contempt before in Miss Osborne-the-Mop, one of the funniest of contemporary fantasies, and her position as a quality writer for children has been affirmed with the eighth Aurienne Award given by ALA to an outstanding book on animal life, 1964's Big Blue Island. (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1966)

[Dave Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read this book 34 years ago with my Dad, as part of “PARP”, Parents As Reading Partners, snd it was fun to get back into the story. I don’t recall too much about Ted or the twins or Mr.Sutton, so it was nice to read it fully today.
Overall the story was cute, well done and made for a nice little adventure. I gave it three stars as I think Wilson Gage could’ve spent a little more time on the history of the house, the neighbors and barn to build more intrigue. What did the originals owners use it for? What was the larger town/ area like and how often did neighbors come by?
Regardless, it was a fun story and I enjoyed reading it today. Glad I still kept this copy from my childhood purchase of it as my Elementary school in NY.

[Heather Tribe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a springtime mystery that is cozy and sweet and, I think, for a younger audience than when I read it to my 7-year old after finding a gorgeous hardcover in an antique store. I think it is more of a nostalgic love for many older readers than actually riveting for a modern audience, but still a nice read with one exception being that the main character dislikes his cousins and is quite unnecessarily negative towards them sometimes. But overall, a pleasant book to read. Glad I did!

[Melody G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite childhood book and not long ago I bought a copy of it and reread it. I found that the old story holds up just as well for me today as it did when I was a kid. I still love this book. And I love how it portrays the innocence of childhood and how a child's mind can create mystery and magic out of any situation :)

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

C+. fiction, children's fiction, grade 4, mystery, Tennessee, Weekly Reader Book Club, from stash, keep.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read an old favorite. This book was influential during my Nancy Drew phase.

[A Hoppy Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
A nice little mystery.