Ghostsitters by Angie Sage

Ghostsitters by Angie Sage
Buy Ghostsitters by Angie Sage at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: A quirky and spooky, but gentle, tale of a young girl dealing with a pair of badly behaved ghosts. It's lots of fun, and perfectly pitched to its young audience of girls and boys alike.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 224	Date: September 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-0747598268
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When the grown-ups go on holiday, leaving Araminita and Wanda behind, they're not looking forward to their crabby great-aunt looking after them. Thankfully, Minty's cool cousin Mathilda comes to look after them instead. However, she brings two naughty ghosts along with her, which doesn't go down well with Minty, Wanda, or the other ghosts that already live in Spook House.

Ghostsitters is the latest in the Araminta Spook series of books. It'll go down well with existing fans, as well as winning over many new people. There's fun and excitement on every page, mainly stemming from the spooky (but never scary) setting. Think of a junior Addams Family, but flecked with normal children's concerns. Will Araminta's birthday be a special day? Why is her best friend keeping secrets from her? Will stuffy grown-ups spoil her fun?

Angie Sage's writing is delightful. Books aimed at the newly confident reading alone can often be bland and uninspiring as they have to keep things simple. Sage pitches it at the perfect level, whilst still having enough intrigue and excitement to help foster a love of books. The plot threads are woven wonderfully throughout - never putting too much on to the plate of the reader, but still creating a fully-rounded story.

Jimmy Pickering's bold illustrations fit the book perfectly. The spider webs in the corner of the pages give it a gorgeous Hallowe'en feel, whilst the drawings of the ghosts and Spook House's other strange inhabitants help develop quirky mental images. Great fun.

Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

If you like Ghostsitters, you'll also like Trixie - Ace Ghost Buster by Ros Asquith and Singing for Mrs Pettigrew by Michael Morpurgo

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You can read more book reviews or buy Ghostsitters by Angie Sage at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.

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