Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road Series #1)

by Kate Klise, M. Sarah Klise (Illustrator)

Overview

This giggly ghost story, the first installment of the award-winning 43 Old Cemetery Road series, explores forgiveness, what it means to be a family, and opening one’s heart.

When I. B. Grumply moves into the old Victorian mansion on 43 Old Cemetery Road, all he’s looking for is some peace and quiet so he can finally finish his next bestseller. But the house is already taken by a boy named Seymour Hope, his cat Shadow, oh, and an irritable ghost named Olive! Can this eccentric group help a cranky old man open his heart to new friends? From letters to newspaper articles, a work-in-progress manuscript, and even an occasional tombstone engraving, this quirky epistolary tale by dynamic duo author-illustrator sisters Kate and M. Sarah Klise, is complete with whimsical drawings and pun-tastic hilarity, perfect for even the most tentative reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547398488
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/06/2010
Series:	43 Old Cemetery Road Series , #1
Pages:	147
Sales rank:	123,953
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kate Klise is the author of many punny and funny middle grade novels, including all of the books in the popular 43 Old Cemetery Road series. She has also written a number of picture books and young adult novels. Ms. Klise lives in Norwood, Missouri. For more information about Kate, visit www.kateandsarahklise.com.

M. Sarah Klise illustrates picture books and middle grade novels with a graphic twist. She also teaches art to children and adults in the Bay Area in California. For more information about Sarah, visit www.kateandsarahklise.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Kate Klise fleshes out the plot with back stories on the house, Seymour’s catastrophic, absent parents and Olive’s haunting of the house. Suspense intrudes when Seymour’s parents reappear and decide to demolish it. Everywhere they look, readers will find comedy, even in the headers on the letters and character names. Of course it’s all going to come out magnificently in the end, thereby setting up the next book in the planned series. A quirky, comedic romp."—Kirkus

"This epistolary graphic mystery may take genre-bending into the realm of genre-pretzeling, but it still delivers an unlikely story with a great deal of likability."—Booklist "The fun here is in the narrative equipment—letters, e-mails, newspaper extracts, floor plan, cast list, etc., and in the embedded jokes, such as Cliff Hanger (the editor of The Ghastly Times) and Frank N. Beans (the private investigator) . . . young mock-gothic fans will nonetheless be eager to revisit 43 Old Cemetery Road in the anticipated sequels."—Horn Book "This first title in a new series will appeal to readers, especially reluctant ones, as it moves quickly and leaves its audience eager for book two, which is announced in this ghastly and fun tale."—School Library Journal "This fresh, funny launch of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series introduces an eccentric cast with pun-tastic names . . . the story is light enough for more tentative readers, with many humorous details to reward those who look closer."—Publishers Weekly ". . . a frothy little confection, whose enjoyability comes as much, if not more, from the format and side jokes . . . as from the main plot.  The story is a pleasant example of the supernatural sitcom . . . an engaging and easy-going read.  Illustrations, mostly vigorous line portraits drawn by ‘Seymour,’ add additional invitation to the accessible pages.”—The Bulletin

Editorial Reviews

"Kate Klise fleshes out the plot with back stories on the house, Seymour’s catastrophic, absent parents and Olive’s haunting of the house. Suspense intrudes when Seymour’s parents reappear and decide to demolish it. Everywhere they look, readers will find comedy, even in the headers on the letters and character names. Of course it’s all going to come out magnificently in the end, thereby setting up the next book in the planned series. A quirky, comedic romp."—Kirkus "This epistolary graphic mystery may take genre-bending into the realm of genre-pretzeling, but it still delivers an unlikely story with a great deal of likability."—Booklist "The fun here is in the narrative equipment—letters, e-mails, newspaper extracts, floor plan, cast list, etc., and in the embedded jokes, such as Cliff Hanger (the editor of The Ghastly Times) and Frank N. Beans (the private investigator) . . . young mock-gothic fans will nonetheless be eager to revisit 43 Old Cemetery Road in the anticipated sequels."—Horn Book "This first title in a new series will appeal to readers, especially reluctant ones, as it moves quickly and leaves its audience eager for book two, which is announced in this ghastly and fun tale."—School Library Journal "This fresh, funny launch of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series introduces an eccentric cast with pun-tastic names . . . the story is light enough for more tentative readers, with many humorous details to reward those who look closer."—Publishers Weekly ". . . a frothy little confection, whose enjoyability comes as much, if not more, from the format and side jokes . . . as from the main plot. The story is a pleasant example of the supernatural sitcom . . . an engaging and easy-going read. Illustrations, mostly vigorous line portraits drawn by ‘Seymour,’ add additional invitation to the accessible pages.”—The Bulletin —

From the Publisher

This fresh, funny launch of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series introduces an eccentric cast with pun-tastic names. I.B. Grumply, a cranky children's book author with writer's block, rents a dilapidated Victorian mansion (from realtor Anita Sale) in the town of Ghastly in hopes of writing an addition to his Ghost Tamers series (publisher: Paige Turner). He discovers that the owners have left their son Seymour behind while-in one of several ironic twists-they tour Europe debunking the existence of ghosts. Seymour does indeed "see more" than others: he has befriended Olive C. Spence, a feisty ghost who has vowed to haunt the house until she accomplishes what she couldn't in life-publish a book. As in the "Regarding the..." series, written by these sibling collaborators, the story unfolds through characters' correspondence ("The man is impossible! I should've dropped THREE chandeliers on his head," Olive writes Seymour about Grumply) as well as other documents, including illustrated pages from the local tabloid. Despite a slightly sappy denouement, the story is light enough for more tentative readers, with many humorous details to reward those who look closer. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

Gr 4-6

When former best-selling children's author I.B. Grumply moves into a Victorian mansion in Ghastly, IL, to write the latest installment in his "Ghost Tamer" series, he is hindered by more than just his overwhelming case of writer's block. He is dismayed to find the mansion already occupied by an 11-year-old boy named Seymour Hope, his cat, and Olive C. Spence, a ghost living in the cupola who is unhappy because she never managed to publish her books in her lifetime. Similar to the Klises' other offerings, the story is successfully told through letters, newspaper clippings, drawings, and related devices. Although Grumply has written ghost tales, he himself is a nonbeliever, and Olive and Seymour attempt to convince him. They then collaborate on a book about their own experiences, including the possibility of the demolition of the mansion, a ghost who falls in love with the occupant of her house, and Seymour's parents and their lack of responsibility for his care. This first title in a new series will appeal to readers, especially reluctant ones, as it moves quickly and leaves its audience eager for book two, which is announced in this ghastly and fun tale.-Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

School Library Journal

Plenty of fun lurks in this ghost-story comedy when a dried-up, unsociable writer, I.B. Grumply, rents an old house already occupied by Seymour Hope, an abandoned boy, and his best friend, Olive, an active and bossy lady ghost. All told through letters, newspaper articles and other documents, the story also stars M. Sarah Klise's whimsical line drawings, which add substance to the plot. Readers learn that Mr. Grumply's writer's block has continued until he's penniless; he'll have to open up and make friends with his new roommates if he wants to produce that next bestseller. Kate Klise fleshes out the plot with back stories on the house, Seymour's catastrophic, absent parents and Olive's haunting of the house. Suspense intrudes when Seymour's parents reappear and decide to demolish it. Everywhere they look, readers will find comedy, even in the headers on the letters and character names. Of course it's all going to come out magnificently in the end, thereby setting up the next book in the planned series. A quirky, comedic romp. (Fiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews