We all know how hard it is to match readers to books. That’s what I love about a series, once a reader is hooked then their next read is ready and waiting. If they enjoy one book by an author then they might try another. Point in case – Abela’s  Ghost club series. As kids, who didn’t enjoy reading and telling ghost stories? Abela cleverly uses this appeal of a good scare to draw the reader in from the first chapter but it is her fast paced story telling which holds the reader’s interest to the last page.

Twins, Angeline and Edgar, along with an unwilling Dylan, are ghost catchers. They use high-tech  tools of trade including ghost trackers, circuit breakers and protective clothing while on the job of solving paranormal problems, including a ghost haunting their school. The Haunted School is much more than a ghost story, it is also a story about the impact of bullying.

Don’t you love it when you find a new book to add to your mentor texts.

The opening sentence ‘The silhouette of Dismal Downs Boarding School sat ragged against the night sky, the moon struggling beneath grey suffocating clouds.’  Illustrates how, as a class read aloud, it lends itself to predicting, inferring and building vocabulary.  However it is the way Abela has built her characters that gets me seeing the possibilities of using The Haunted House as a mentor text. It is a book where all the characters, even the bit players,  are worth discussing; ask students to identify a character’s strengths and weaknesses, and support their views with examples from the text.  Students can explore the different ways Abela has added depth to her characters through their words, thoughts and actions as well as the words, thoughts and actions of other characters.

 The Haunted House is also a model for writers wanting to create vivid images and suspense in their own story. The first four pages leave the reader on the edge of their seat wanting more – a perfect place to stop…the book will fly off the shelf into the hands of a reader before you turn around.

It is a book to be enjoyed not only by primary students. Once I got my 13 year old to ‘not judge a book by its cover,’ he thoroughly enjoyed The Haunted House, appreciating the development of characters and creation of suspense. He declared he wanted to read on to find out what happened to the ghost. Try using the book trailer to launch Ghost Club 2: The Haunted School in your classroom. http://www.deborahabela.com/site/Video_Clips.html