The Blue Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer, Suling Wang (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Liz is staying with her grandmother in her old house in the woods of northern Minnesota when one night a noise awakens her. It is someone calling her name, calling for Elizabeth. Liz opens her eyes. There is a blue ghost in her room! What does the ghost want from her?
This exciting mystery by Newbery Honor writer Marion Dane Bauer is perfect for first chapter-book readers.


From the Hardcover edition.

Angela Olkey - Children's Literature

Liz and her grandmother are spending the weekend at the cabin where many generations of her family have lived. The purpose of the visit is to pack up the cabin so her grandmother can sell it as she no longer comes there. The working weekend takes a mysterious turn when Liz is awakened in the middle of the night by the shadow of a woman all bathed in blue light. Liz hears someone calling "Elizabeth" and while searching for the voice is transported back in time to see her ancestors. Liz encounters her great-great-great grandmother Elizabeth when she was a young girl and at a time of great need. Elizabeth's baby brother is sick with the croup and she thinks Liz is a guardian angel sent to help her. Liz does indeed save the baby with the help of the woman ghost and then gets sent back to her own time and her grandmother. This is a simple story of a girl finding the courage and faith to believe in the supernatural and being able to help. A sense of family helping family is threaded throughout the narrative. 2005, Random House, Ages 8 to 12.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Nine-year-old Liz is helping her grandmother prepare to sell the old family cabin. She is awakened at night by a strange blue light and a voice calling her name. In the corner of her room, a ghostly woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes beckons to her and then disappears through the wall. Later, Liz hears voices and a baby's cry coming from behind the spot where the blue ghost vanished. She follows the sound and finds herself in the same cabin but long ago when it was first built. There, three little boys and a tiny baby are all in the care of a girl not much older than Liz herself. When the girl calls her a "guardian angel," Liz knows that she has been summoned to the past because the children and the blue ghost need her help. This skillfully written short chapter book moves smoothly between the present and past. There is a strong emphasis on family heritage and intergenerational relations. Gran's stories about their family history provide the clues that Liz needs to answer the ghost's plea. Expressive black-and-white pictures heighten the suspense. Transition readers attracted by the wonderfully spooky cover art will find this a satisfying read.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Liz is trying to help her grandmother prepare the family's old log house for sale. She's her grandmother's guardian angel as she helps with the packing and reminiscing. Though Liz is sad to part with the home, her sadness turns to fear when strange things start happening. First, it's the girl in the blue dress, then it's the talking and singing behind the wall and then, one afternoon after a nap, Liz walks through the wall and joins the voices. She becomes a guardian angel to her great-great grandmother, young Elizabeth. Poor Elizabeth is trying to care for her brothers, including the desperately ill Matthew. By being in the right place at the right time with the right remedy, Liz is able to save her namesake and ensure her own future. With easy-to-follow twists and turns, Bauer spins a spooky time-travel story for the youngest readers that will keep them interested without giving them nightmares of their own. A welcome addition to the venerable Stepping Stone series. (Fiction. 7-9)

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