[missymouse]

Originally Posted by PrincessJill

Sorry, I didn't see this when I first posted, but I do have a few suggestions I wanted to add...

I read "The Mysertious Benedict Society" and I really loved it! It's kind of Harry Potter-ish in that there are a group of kids that come together to solve mysteries and riddles and save the world, but they are learning logic instead of magic. The first couple chapters really hooked me because they had to take a test to get into the society, and it told how each of them solved the same problems in different ways. It was neat to see who would have solved it like you, and then see all the other ways it could be done that you didn't even think of! It was a fun book and it kept my attention the whole way through - towards the end of the book I couldn't put it down!! There is a second book in the series out now too. I think it might make a fun book to read together, if only just to see how your own kids would have solved the mysteries!


This may be a little darker than what you or your children prefer, but "The Graveyard Book" was also a very good book. It is about a boy whose family is killed by The Man Jack, but the boy escapes and is rescued by ghosts in a graveyard and named Nobody - Bod for short. The ghosts raise him and teach him things you could only learn in a graveyard, like how to disappear. Each chapter is about a different event in Bod's life, and they could be read independently of the story itself, so I immediately pictured it as a bedtime-reading book. There are some creepy scenes, such as when they go to the world of the ghouls, when all the ghosts go into town to do the Danse Macabre, and when they meet the Indigo Man... but if your kids are interested in ghosts at all, it's really neat to see how they are portrayed in this book - not scary, but as Bod's family. The book has a great ending (a little bittersweet!) and I think can be enjoyed by kids and parents.

Wow! Those both sound wonderful! I'm definitely going to put those on our list. The Graveyard Book I might have to read with just my son. My oldest daughter is pretty scared by ghosts and such.