Abstract
Reviewed by: The Blue Ghost Timnah Card Bauer, Marion Dane The Blue Ghost; illus. by Suling Wang. Random House, 200585p (Stepping Stone Books) Library ed. ISBN 0-375-93179-1$13.99 Trade ed. ISBN 0-375-83179-7$11.95 R Gr. 2-3 Nine-year-old Liz goes for the first time with her grandmother to the family cabin in the woods of northern Minnesota. The cabin has housed Liz's relatives—many of whom were named Elizabeth—for about 150 years, so when a blue ghost appears [End Page 7] in Liz's bedroom, calling for "Elizabeth," Liz guesses the call is meant for one of the prior owners of that name. Following the ghost through an interior wall, Liz arrives in the era of the first owners, just in time to help the first Elizabeth save her baby brother from a severe case of the croup. Back in her own time, Liz shares the story with her grandmother, who admits to having seen the blue ghost when she was a girl. Tightly written, this spare story offers readers a pleasantly eerie ambience infused with the combined thrills of solving a mystery and succoring someone in need. Gran and Liz share a comfortable camaraderie that allows young Liz to recognize her own importance in the family chain, not just as a "guardian angel" who steps in to help ancestors long gone but also as Gran's companion and would-be protector while the older woman packs up her personal items and prepares the cabin for sale. The black-and-white illustrations are blandly drafted, but the images of round-cheeked children and the kind-eyed ghost help keep the mood from becoming outright scary. This sturdy little mystery promises to be a satisfying offering for transitional readers with a bent for historical stories such as the American Girls series. Copyright © 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Published Version
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