Thursday, February 9, 2012

Klise, Kate. Till Death Do US Bark


Klise, Kate. Till Death Do US Bark    
Harcourt Brace/Houghton Mifflin     2011  109p  15.99 978-0-547-40036-5 elm/ms      VG-BN    Supernatural       
     Seymour Hope finds a new friend in his dog Secret, but there is too much controversy in town following the death of Secret’s owner, Noah Breth, and the two conniving children who hope to inherit all $7 million of Noah’s fortune.   The Klise sisters continue their legacy of entertaining readers with their creative stories told in letter format with volume 3 of their series, “54 Old Cemetery Road.”  In this charming continuation, Seymour Hope finds a dog and attempts to hide the name of its owner from his “adopted” parents, ghost story writer Ignatius B. Grumply, and his ghostly sidekick, Olive C. Spence.  Their ghostly abode is called Spence Mansion, in the town of Ghastly, of course!  There is conflict right from the beginning as Olive’s cat, Shadow, simply despises Secret, and Secret annoys everyone with his bark!  Enter the fighting sister and brother of the former owner of the dog, a millionaire who left $7 million in coins all around town to keep everyone guessing and to thwart the attempts of his two ungrateful children to simply prance into a fortune.   What fun young readers will have figuring out the names like that of attorney, Rita O’Bitt, and dead millionaire, Noah Breth!  Naturally, the objectionable children are Kanine Breth and Kitty Breth!  By using this format which has been so adeptly penned and illustrated, the Klise sisters teach young readers that everyone can change.  There are other little surprises along the way, all designed to keep readers turning the pages.  In this third volume, readers will not be disappointed.                 greedy siblings learn that $ isn’t everything   Martha Squaresky

 

No comments: