Dying to Meet You

My 10 year old son read this book in one day. He loved it.

When Ignatius B. Grumply rents the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can finally rid himself of his dreaded writer's block - little did he know what a task it would become. For starters, 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied - Seymour Hope is an 11 year old boy whose parents (the owners of the house) have left behind while touring Europe. Seymour and his cat Shadow are residing in the house and have no intentions of letting anyone else move into the place - much less the grouchy, I.B. Grumply. Also living in the house is an irritable ghost named Olive C. Spence - who's rather put out by Mr. Grumply's moving in. It's hard to say who is more outraged... but a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man- and the abandoned kid? The story is told in a series of letters, e-mails, newspaper clippings and a few drawings (done by one of the main characters). I fell in love with this short little story and devoured in about an hour tops. The characters are quick and witty. The illustrations were just amazing - I loved all the little details (especially when Olive was in the picture and you'd see her glasses floating around). The word play and the characters names [i.e. Anita Sale (realtor); M. Balm (librarian); E. Gadds (attorney)] were quirky and just impressively clever. I fell in love with the Klises' style and their sense of humor. I found this to be a very unique and engaging read with a bit of a mystery (but nothing too scary). It is great for all ages - but is definitely geared towards a young crowd. Best part of it all, more books coming soon.

This book was super-cute and funny. It had a surprising amount of heart for the format (actually, for any format); it was really very sweet and touching at the end. The illustrations are delightfully quirky and inventive, and the story is well-developed and artfully structured. It was a bullet-fast read. It's fun for kids, but I think it could be enjoyed at any age. I don't write reviews unless I really like something. And this one I loved! I've read a fair number of award-winning children's books, and this is right up there with any of them! Seriously, in my opinion, it deserves recognition.

The book Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road is an interesting thriller filled with surprises and humor. It was famous author Ignatius B. Grumply's first day in the town of Ghastly. He was looking for a new house to rent for the summer, so he started talking to a woman named Anita Sale from Proper Properties to help him find a home. He was looking for a quiet house with no kids around, to write his newest Ghost Tamer book, but he was surprised when he overlooked the contract and ended up with a home that included a boy named Seymour and his cat. The two lived on the third floor with their ghost friend, Olive C. Spence. When Seymour's parents, Les and Diane Hope, can't find anyone to buy their haunted mansion, they plan to demolish it and sell it as an empty lot, but Seymour doesn't want this to happen so he struggles to make the money. Read 43 Old Cemetery Road Is Dying To Meet You to see if Seymour can reach his goal! Kate Klise is a fictional author that starts pulling you in at the beginning. Her choice of words and unexpected happenings make any reader curious. I would've liked the book to be in chapter form, instead of letters because it got confusing. It was kind of hard to keep up with all the letters switching between people. At the same time, I still think the letters and notes were a creative way to show what was happening. The illustrations are detailed and help explain some parts of the story. Many of the illustrations are supposed to be drawn by characters in the book, and M. Sarah Klise did a good job of making it look like a kid's sketches. It's a fictional read I would recommend for kids between 8 and 11 years of age. The mysterious book leads you to witnessing many hilarious incidents, with happy and sad endings. To find out how it all ends, read the book 43 Old Cemetery Road, because it's dying to meet you. Reviewed by Sylvia Rodriguez' Fifth Grade Class Phoebe Hearst Elementary, Sacramento 43 Old Cemetery Road Dying To Meet You, is a fictional book about an old writer named Mr. Grumply, who is writing his thirteenth book and needs a place to live. So he rented a house and finds out that here is an 11-year-old boy and a ghost! The 11-year-old cat, named Shadow, was as black as the sky at midnight. The boy's name was Seymour Hope. He had parents, but left him and went to Europe, because they thought that he was going crazy about a ghost living in their house. Seymour could see the ghost, whose name was Olive. She cooked for the boy and did everything a mother would do. She was also a writer. When Mr. Grumply moved into the house, he saw Seymour and his cat, Shadow. Mr. Grumply was allergic to cats. So he called his agent and complained about the cat and the child. All she said was "I warned you, and there is not a thing I can do." He was VERY mad, so he went up stairs and stared typing his book. STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!!!! Mr.Grumply yelled at Seymour, but it was not him!! He said to Mr. Grumply, "That was

"Dying to Meet You" is an easy and fun read - and though the target age group is 9-12, this will even appeal to older readers. I loved the story and the creative use of language. Ignatius B. Grumply is a writer in crisis, he has a severe case of writer's block. So what does he do? He rents a spooky old house on Old Cemetery Road in Ghastly, Illinois [don't you just love the name?] but his troubles are far from over as other characters are introduced to complicate matters in the most delightful way, and with witty names like the publisher [Paige Turner], the realtor [Anita Sale], the mischievous ghost [Olive C Spence], the young houseguest and many more. The story itself is told through a series of letters exchanged between the various main characters. The book is delightfully illustrated with sketches, newspaper reports, notes etc. This is a fast-paced, easy and fun read, and hopefully the first installment in a series. The Klise sisters are immensely talented and I look forward to their future collaborative works.

The Klise sisters have done it again. This quick reading book, written in the "Klise style" of letters, newspapers and notes, tells the story of a grumpy children's author trying to produce his 13th book. It all takes place in an old mansion which is home to a young boy, his cat, and a ghost named Olive. But Olive is not just any ghost. She was once a children's author who never got published. It's all great fun. Now, younger children will be able to enjoy the sisters with this easy to read story. The characters have names that will help but put a smile on your face. My personal favorite was the book editor, Paige Turner.