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SNY
The Magic Nation Thing (age 8-11)
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
magic ... mystery ... spooky
Publisher comments: Abby O'Malley is a girl who likes things to make sense. School makes sense, and her best friend Paige makes sense (most of the time), but Abby's flighty mother never makes sense. Abby's mom seems to think that she and Abby are descended from a line of witches, and that they have special powers—psychic powers that don't make sense at all. The problem is, Abby knows that she can do certain things that other people can't. Sometimes, when she holds an object in her hand, she's overpowered by sounds and pictures that show where the owner is and what he or she is doing. Abby thinks of this as her "magic nation," because that is what her kindergarten teacher told her it was called. Now 11, Abby has an inkling that her teacher may have been saying it was her "imagination," which unfortunately, she knows it is not. Now some things are happening in her mother's detective agency—cases where Abby's magic nation thing might come in handy. But does Abby want to admit that such a sensible girl could have such an unsensible power?
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STR
Help! I'm Trapped! Series (age 8-11)
by Todd Strasser
spooky ... humor
Jake Sherman has a normal life...until his body is switched!
title: Help I'm Trapped in My Sister's Body
title: Help I'm Trapped in Obedience School
title: Help I'm Trapped in an Aliens Body
title: Help I'm Trapped in the First Day of School
title: Help I'm Trapped in My Teacher's Body
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CRE
Pleasing the Ghost (age 8-11)
by Sharon Creech
illness/loss ... humor ... spooky ... family
Ever since his father died, Dennis has been seeing ghosts. Lots of ghosts. They blow in on the breeze, visit for a while, and fly off again. But one night the ghost of his Uncle Arvie floats in the window. And Arvie wants to do more than chat. Together, they find a lost love letter, finish a special painting, and dig up buried treasure...all for Arvie's widow, Julia. Dennis loves having his uncle around again, but there's still one ghost he's longing to see. Perhaps on the next ghost wind . . .
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BEL
The Johnny Dixon Mysteries (age 8-11)
by John Bellairs
magic ... spooky ... mystery
Thirteen-year-old Johnny Dixon joins Professor Childermass to take on the forces of evil...both natural and supernatural.
title: Secret of the Underground Room
title: The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt
title: The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost
title: The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull
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BAR
Tree Girl (age 8-11)
by T. A. Barron
survival ... identity ... spooky ... fantasy
Nine-year-old Anna lives by the sea with a grumpy old fisherman. She yearns to discover the truth about her past. If only she could get to the far side of the forest where she was found as a baby. However, she's been told the forest is haunted by tree ghouls--the same ghouls that probably killed her mother.
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COV
Monster of the Year (age 8-11)
by Bruce Coville
humor ... spooky
Catalog: Michael and his friend Steve decide to launch a "Monster of the Year" contest, setting the stage for one of the creepiest beauty pageants ever.
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ANG
In Summertime it's Tuffy (age 8-11)
by Judie Angell
humor ... spooky
Eleven-year-old Tuffy and her friends make a voodoo doll at summer camp and use it to put a spell on the Head Counselor.
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CHE
The Would-Be Witch (age 8-11)
by Ruth Chew
mystery ... spooky
Two children are convinced that the owner of the nearby antique shop is a witch.
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ENR
Gone-Away Lake (age 8-11)
by Elizabeth Enright
spooky ... adventure
Summer has a magic all its own when Portia and her cousin Julian discover adventure in a hidden colony of forgotten summer houses on the shores of a swampy lake.
sequel: Return to Gone-Away
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STI
Goosbumps Series (age 8-11)
by R. L. Stine
mystery ... spooky
The Goosbumps mystery series will chill you to the bone!
title: The Ghost Next Door
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CHR
Favor for a Ghost (age 8-11)
by Matt Christopher
animals ... friendship ... spooky
When the ghost of his friend Billy returns to beg him to move the grave of his former dog next to his own, Lenny tries to find a way to fulfill the request despite the opposition of the dog's second owner.
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YOR
I Will Make You Disappear (age 8-11)
by Carol Beach York
spooky ... magic
Two young girls, spending a vacation with their family in a gloomy house, begin to play at witchcraft.
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WRI
The Ghost of Ernie P. (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: After a freak accident kills Ernie and cuts short his Top Secret Plan, his friend Jeff is haunted by Ernie's ghost and pushed toward carrying out the plan.
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WRI
A Ghost in the Window (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: A man who died in a car crash after allegedly stealing $50,000 from a bank, tries to communicate with the family through Meg's dreams. Sequel to "The Secret Window."
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WRI
Christina's Ghost (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Christina's summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house with her grumpy uncle turns into a ghostly adventure.
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WRI
The Ghost Witch (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
spooky
Jenny and her mother are all set to move into old Miss Nagle's mansion when Jenny discovers the house is haunted.
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LER
The Peanut Butter Poltergeist (age 8-11)
by Ellen Leroe
spooky ... family
Eleven-year-old M.J. seeks revenge on his obnoxious stepsister by faking evidence of a poltergeist in their summer cottage, only to face the horror of what seems to be more real than he imagined.
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KEY
Mystery of the Sassafras Chair (age 8-11)
by Alexander Key
spooky ... mystery
A sassafras chair, whose wood seems to take on properties of the dead carpenter, aids a boy in revealing a murderer and a thief.
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FUN
Ghosthunters Series (age 8-11)
by Cornelia Funke
humor ... spooky
Nine-year-old Tom Tomsky can't catch a break: He's a klutz, his sister Lola pretty much hates his guts, and--this is a big "and"--he just found a ghost camping out in his cellar. Lucky for Tom his grandma's best friend just happens to be the world's foremost ghosthunter. Under her expert tutelage, Tom learns the tools of the trade--which just happen to include buckets of graveyard dirt--and soon finds he has to face down not just the ASG (Averagely Spooky Ghost) in the basement but the IRG (Incredibly Revolting Ghost) in town. All while keeping the nettlesome Lola off his trail....
title: Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost
title: Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost
title: Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness
title: Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom!
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IBB
The Great Ghost Rescue (age 8-11)
by Eva Ibbotson
humor ... adventure ... spooky
Humphrey is a small ghost with a big problem. His family has lost their home, and they're off to find a new haunting ground. But soon Humphrey and his parents discover that ghosts all over the country are being turned out as dank castles are converted to cheerful tourist hotels. Humphrey knows something must be done to help the homeless ghosts. And with the help of a sympathetic schoolboy named Rick, maybe he can do something to aid all the ghosts of England after all. . . .
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COV
How I Survived My Summer Vacation (age 8-11)
by Bruce Coville
humor ... spooky
Spending the summer at Camp Haunted Hills should be full of adventure, right? Well, the campers get more than they bargained for when very spooky things start happening. Is the place really haunted, or is all the funny business created by the filmmaker who owns the camp?
sequel: Some of My Best Friends are Monsters
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BAG
Animal Ark Hauntings Series (age 8-11)
by Ben M. Baglio
adventure ... animals ... spooky
Mandy and James continue their Animal Ark adventures, but with a spooky twist.
title: Cat in the Crypt
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HOW
The Celery Stalks at Midnight (age 8-11)
by James Howe
spooky ... mystery ... humor
Chester the cat is more than ever convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire when there is a harvest of white vegetables on the morning after the night that Bunnicula was probably wandering through the neighborhood.
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WRI
The Ghosts of Mercy Manor (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
family ... spooky
Catalog: Gwen goes to stay with a foster family, and sees the ghost of a young girl who hides a terrible secret.
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WRI
The Ghost Comes Calling (age 8-11)
by Betty Ren Wright
mystery ... spooky
Catalog: While vacationing at a spooky cabin on Perch Lake, nine-year-old Chad tries to clear the name of Tim Tapper, the cabin's ghostly inhabitant, who was blamed for a truck accident in the 1930s.
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FLE
The Midnight Horse (age 8-11)
by Sid Fleischman
adventure ... spooky ... magic
On a coach bound for Cricklewood, the orphan boy Touch caught his first glimpse of the haunt named The Great Chaffalo. According to rumor, he was once a famous magician who could turn a pile of straw into a horse. Now, Touch needs the ghost's help in order to escape his wicked great-uncle. So, with an armload of straw and a determined spirit, Touch makes his plea to The Great Chaffalo, and, magically, a horse appears! But can magic save Touch when his great-uncle's schemes grow even more villainous?

Walter Hays Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012
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