Araminta Spookie 5: Ghostsitters

It isn't enough that Araminta and best friend, Wanda, are left behind during her birthday week just so Aunt Tabby, Uncle Drac, and Wanda's parents can explore the giant bat caves of Transylvannia. Great Aunt Emilene has been "delayed," which means the girls are stuck with a worse babysitting prospect: Nurse Watkins. Thank goodness Araminta's cooler-than-cool cousin Mathilda shows up and convinces Nurse Watkins that Aunt Tabby wouldn't mind if she looked after the girls alone. But Araminta and Wanda quickly realize there are worse things than having an old fuddy-duddy for a babysitter once they meet Ned and Jed, two young poltergeists Mathilda can't make go away. The mischievous spirits aren't in Spookie Manor more than five minutes before wreaking all sorts of havoc. With resident ghost Sir Horace already on edge over the planned destruction of his old keep, it's not long before he's threatening to vacate the premises permanently. When Ned and Jed's antics lead to the discovery of a tarnished old ring hidden in Sir Horace's armor, the old ghost is beyond despair and out the door with the manor's other two ghosts (his page Edmond and faithful wold Fang) in tow. Together Araminta, Wanda, and Mathilda must find the source of Horace's distress, save his keep, bring their ghosts home, convince their new guests Spookie Manor *isn't* where they want to settle permanently, and set the house back to rights - all before the grown-ups return from their trip. With its light, humorous storytelling and quirky, engaging characters, GHOSTSITTERS gives young readers an entertaining escape into Araminta's world of paranormal excursions and hijinx. Reviewed by: Cat

this series is fun and angie sage did a fine job of making you want to find out what the characters get into this time! A ghost in a suit of armor....an uncle that sleeps with the bats in his turrent. Fun and clever!

I am a fifty something adult who enjoys reading children's books. This is a great book. Araminta discovers a great big slug in the lettuce sandwich of life when she and her friend are left to the attentions of her cousin while Uncle Drac and Aunt Tabby go on a trip. Poltergiests wreck the house and Araminta is worried about having a lousy birthday. Everything turns out great though. This book has great humor which is probably too subtle for the age group it's written for but great for 5O year old gals.

Araminta's birthday week offers tons of surprises, both good and bad. Aunt Tabby has won a free trip for four to Transylvania to explore the caves of the giant bats. How exciting! The bad news: Aunt Tabby and Uncle Drac are taking Araminta's best friend Wanda's parents with them, and Araminta will have to stay home. On second thought, maybe that's not such bad news after all. She can have a birthday party with ghosts. Until Aunt Tabby reveals the really bad news: Great-aunt Emilene has agreed to babysit. Araminta can't believe it. Great-aunt Emilene? She'd rather be babysat by frogs or bats or even ghosts. And when Great-aunt Emilene fails to show, there's no relief. Aunt Tabby simply hijacks the hearse that Great-aunt Emilene sent to deliver her no-show message and takes off to collect Nurse Beryl Watkins, a sharp-tongued martinet who makes Great-aunt Emilene look like a pussy cat. Aunt Tabby and Uncle Drac take off, and Araminta and Wanda endure a dreadful night with Nurse Watkins, eating parsnip soup and going to bed early. But in the morning, there's a lovely surprise. Araminta's Cousin Mathilda, with her cool black coat and even cooler black hat with dead things pinned to it, arrives to take over babysitting responsibilities. How awesome! Except that Cousin Mathilda doesn't come alone. She brings along a pair of naughty poltergeists, Ned and Jed, who delight in throwing, stomping on and breaking things --- especially Araminta's very favorite onion and cheese chips, which crumble with a lovely crunchy sound. Pretty soon, Araminta and Wanda are spending hours cleaning up after the poltergeists, while Mathilda barricades herself in her room all night and sleeps until noon. The next day, things just get worse. Mathilda and even Wanda (that traitor!) take off and go shopping, leaving Araminta alone with two terrible ghosts. What kind of birthday is this? When Ned and Jed torment her old friend Sir Horace (old as in very old, as in 500 years old) and he threatens to leave Spookie House, she feels like she's lost her last best friend. And maybe she has. This hasn't been much of a birthday. Can she figure out a way to restore Sir Horace's dignity, put Ned and Jed in their place, and give herself a wonderful birthday celebration after all? Well, she's Araminta Spookie, isn't she? She can always come up with a plan! The question is, will it all work out the way she thinks it will? Araminta Spookie returns in this fifth installment of her adventures, bringing the same surprises, quirkiness and spookiness that readers have come to expect. GHOSTSITTERS is another fast-paced effort from Angie Sage, full of ghosts and endless fun.

Reviewed by Madeline McElroy (age 7.5) for Reader Views (11/08) This is a laughable and odd story about a family living in a haunted house. If I could give 500 stars to this book, I would! My favorite characters are Sir Horace, Uncle Drac, Araminta, Mathadilla, and Ned and Jed. The funniest thing in the book is when Ned or Jed say something like "Ned or was it Jed?" It is really odd that Araminta likes hats that have dead mice and lizards and bats and toads and frogs on them. I also think it's weird that a ghost would dress up in a night costume! And I love the part when Araminta was hugging her Uncle Drac when he came back home, it was sweet. I think boys and girls would enjoy "Ghostsitters (Araminta Spookie Book 5)" by Angie Sage.