January 1, 2009
When her family gets stranded in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, Kaye meets the ghost of a little girl and helps the ghost and her sister make peace many years after a tragic death. This short chapter book is just right for young readers: the pace is swift, the characters engaging, and the mystery is only a little bit spooky.
(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
October 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-In her third beginning-chapter-book ghost story, Bauer weaves a suspenseful holiday tale told in alternating voices. In 1938, a girl named Lillian dreams of a perfect Christmas tree and sacrifices herself to the cold to save her younger sister. Her ghost appears to a present-day youngster, Kaye, and leads her to a long-forgotten perfect Christmas tree (which still has the saw stuck in the trunk) and asks that she bring Lillians younger sister, Elsa (who is now Kayes grandmothers age), to see it. Elsa realizes that Kaye has seen her dead sister after the girl describes her beautiful green cloakthe very one that their father bought for Lillian to be buried in. Fergusons atmospheric black-and-white illustrations appear throughout this sweet and tender offering."Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA"
Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2008
Grades 2-4 In December, 1938, Lillian looks through a shop window in town and falls in love with a green, velvet-lined cloak, a wholly inappropriate choice for a farmers daughter. Some 70 years later, Kaye and her parents are driving through the countryside to Grans house for Christmas when an accident forces them to seek shelter in a nearby house. That night, a mysterious girl in a green velvet cloak leads Kaye out of the house and into the woods. Called a companion novel to Bauers The Blue Ghost (2005) and The Red Ghost (2008), this is a completely separate story. It features appealing protagonists in two time periods and manages the alternating narratives with ease. Particularly helpful for readers new to chapter books, Fergusons drawings illustrate the tale with warmth and sensitivity. A good choice for young readers who enjoy the cozier sort of ghost story: not terrifying, but eerie, and with a happy ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)