The Blue Ghost (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) - Hardcover

Marion Dane Bauer is the author of more than 40 books for children, including the Newbery Honor—winning book On My Honor, and Rain of Fire, which won a Jane Adams Peace Association Award. She has also won the Kerlan Award for the body of her work. She lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Grade 2-4–Nine-year-old Liz is helping her grandmother prepare to sell the old family cabin. She is awakened at night by a strange blue light and a voice calling her name. In the corner of her room, a ghostly woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes beckons to her and then disappears through the wall. Later, Liz hears voices and a baby's cry coming from behind the spot where the blue ghost vanished. She follows the sound and finds herself in the same cabin but long ago when it was first built. There, three little boys and a tiny baby are all in the care of a girl not much older than Liz herself. When the girl calls her a guardian angel, Liz knows that she has been summoned to the past because the children and the blue ghost need her help. This skillfully written short chapter book moves smoothly between the present and past. There is a strong emphasis on family heritage and intergenerational relations. Gran's stories about their family history provide the clues that Liz needs to answer the ghost's plea. Expressive black-and-white pictures heighten the suspense. Transition readers attracted by the wonderfully spooky cover art will find this a satisfying read.–Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
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