My haunted house as told to Angie Sage

"I have a Secret Passage Kit, just like my Ghost kit.  I have always wanted to find a secret passage, and now I was sure that at last I had the key to one.

First I opened my Secret Passage Kit box and took out a torch a ball of string and some emergency supplies of cheese and onion crisps.  You need a torch because secret passages are always dark, and you need a ball of string so that you can find you way out again … You need emergency food supplies as you never know how long you are going to be in the secret passage, do you?"

This little extract should show you the tone of this first book from the series Araminta Spook. I have had this book on my reading pile for far too long.  A fellow Teacher-Librarian recommended it months ago as a popular series in her library.

Minty (Araminta) lives in a wonderful spooky house but she has not been able to find a ghost despite years of searching.  Her uncle Drac works at night and sleeps with bats and her aunt Tabby (Tabitha) is obsessed with cleaning and the boiler which constantly gives her trouble.  Aunt Tabby announces she is selling the house and moving somewhere small and clean. (Listen to the extract here.) Minty immediately sets up a plan to foil this scheme.  She easily drives away the real estate agent, she modifies the for sale sign, she drops spiders on a prospective purchaser and finally she enlists the help of a small ghost called Edmund and a suit of armour called Sir Horace.

I love the idea of a different bedroom for every day of the week. As this story opens Minty has been doing her ghost practice in her Thursday bedroom.

You might also enjoy One night at Lottie's house and the Piccolo and Annabelle series by Stephen Axelsen.  

Araminta has her own web site with games and more.  There are six books in this series which are perfect for fans of ghosts, haunted houses, mischief and fun!  It would be best to start with this first book in the series where you meet the main characters and learn some of their eccentricities.  

Many readers enjoy a series and these little books deliver all the right ingredients.  Easy to read, fast paced, delightful illustrations and a feisty, lovable main character.