 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Billy Bones: Tales from the Secrets Closet
- By Christopher Lincoln
- Genre: Mystery
Common Sense Media says
Playfully spooky, cool, and full of imagination.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there's a murder and attempted murder in this book. Lots of talk of the afterlife and death, but it isn't graphic or particularly scary.
What's the story?
Billy Bones is a skeleton who lives in the secrets closet at High Manners Manor. Billy's parents organize the secrets, lies, etc., of the Biglum family, and they always have lots and lots to organize. When a new family member moves into the manor, things begin to change. New mysteries pop up, including secrets surrounding his own family. Billy and his new friend Millicent must unravel the mysteries before the evil Sir Biglum can wreak havoc on all their lives.
Is it any good?
BILLY BONES is great fun. It's spooky, cool, and full of imagination. Readers will enjoy hanging out with ghosts, Death -- who's known as "Uncle Grim" -- and the sinister manifestations that lurk all over the Biglum home. A series of secrets and mysteries are at the center of this story and author Christopher Lincoln guides his audience through them artfully, teasing and revealing clues at all the right moments.
This is a book that kids will have a hard time putting down. If there was ever a way to bring warmth and likeability to the Grim Reaper, skeletons, and ghosts, this book did it so successfully it feels almost normal to find a skeleton drinking cocoa in the closet. The novel has a good pace and a great message: secrets and lies are always exposed to the light of truth.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about lies and secrets. How can lies make life harder? What about secrets? Is there ever a way to keep a secret safe? What are the benefits of releasing a secret?
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Kid, 12 years old
June 7, 2009
AGE
A must read for kids ages 8+.
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!! Great book! Suitable for kids 8 and up if they are strong readers. You may get stuck at the beginning as it isn't the most exciting part of the book, but... READ ON!!! this book is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!
I really enjoyed this book; it is good for people who are not creeped out by skeletons or have a religion in which skeletons are bad.
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| Author: | Christopher Lincoln |
| Illustrator: | Avi Ofer |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Publisher: | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date: | August 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 304 |
| Paperback price: | $10.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
| Read aloud: | 9 |
| Read alone: | 9 |
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