Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom

With the help of his companions, Hetty Hyssop and Hugo the ASG (Averagely Spooky Ghost), 11-year-old Tom is becoming skilled as a ghost hunter. When he sets off on a quest to bag one more ghost, a feat that will earn him his ghost-hunting diploma, he encounters more than a Category Three Ghost. As narrator, John Beach is patient and solicitous of the listener as he explains ghostly jargon. He also differentiates the characters with aplomb, bringing each distinctly to life. Hugo vibrates and undulates as a proper ghost should; Professor Slimeblott is wonderfully slimy; Irwin Hornheaver is a swashbuckling sidekick; and Tom is boyishly confident. Spine-tingling fun is in store. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

October 1, 2007
Gr 3-5-Tom is only eleven but has already successfully hunted three scary ghosts and earned recognition as the youngest hunter of spookies. In the fourth volume (Chicken House, 2007) in the series by Cornelia Funke, Tom must capture the Twelfth Messenger to earn his Ghosthunting Diploma. When he meets with Professor Slimeblot to review the coming field test, the man seems full of malice and has changed the rules. Tom can only bring one helper. Hugo and Hetty Hyssop travel 100 hundred miles to Bogpool, an old village with a history of ghost trouble, where they find more obstacles and a large group of ghosts. Hugo, the average spooky ghost, comes along hidden in the trunk of the car, and the successful threesome set out to capture the ghosts in a breathless series of adventures. The narrator, John Beach, uses several convincing voices for the characters and recounts the tale in a voice that reflects both youthful optimism and fright. Those who liked Sid Fleischman's The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story (Greenwillow, 199) and Dial-a-Ghost (Dutton, 2001) by Eva Ibbotson will enjoy this scary, funny tale.Jean Young, Rockland Public Library, ME

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.