I'm Not Frightened of Ghosts

It seems to be a law of nature that every extended neighborhood has a haunted house. As a child, I spent a great deal of time at my maternal grandmother's and there was an old abandoned house a few blocks away. We were all scared to go near it, there was a story that when one boy was walking by, a gnarled hand came out the upstairs window. Despite many dares and counter-dares, none of our group ever had the courage to even step on the porch. This story is about Sam, Robert and Lizzie walking by a deserted old house. As always seems to be the case, the dares come out about going inside. Only Lizzie has the courage to enter and while inside, she finds an owl that hoots, cobwebs that tickle her head, a mouse that tickles her foot, a bird that makes a fluttering noise and a cat that bumps under the bed. After she thoroughly explores the house, Lizzie walks out and reports that while there may have been ghosts in there, she was not afraid of them. While this story has many of the same features found in others involving children and haunted houses, this one has the interesting twist that it is the girl who has the courage to enter. The boys bravely claim that they too are not afraid, but it is obvious that they are whistling past the haunting. I enjoyed this story; the images and coloration are excellent and in terms of difficulty and message, is perfect for children ages five through nine.