 | 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. |
The Secret of the Painted House
- By Marion Dane Bauer
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Easy, fun read draws kids in with ghostly chills.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there is little of concern here. But Emily doesn't make a very good babysitter -- she leaves her little brother alone in the forest. This story has a ghost, which very sensitive children might find frightening.
What's the story?
When Emily and her family move from the city to the country, she is sure there will be nothing to do. But then she finds a mysterious padlocked playhouse out in the middle of the woods. Looking through the window she sees that the inside walls are painted to resemble the woods, including the playhouse itself. Her neighbor tells her that it belonged to a little girl, Pin, who died in a fire.
When she is forced to babysit her little brother, she leaves him picking flowers in the woods so that she can go investigate the playhouse. She gets inside and finds that the ghost of Pin lives in the painting on the walls, and that she can enter the painting herself. But when Pin lures her brother deep into the painting, it's up to Emily to try to rescue him.
Is it any good?
Veteran author Marion Dane Bauer keeps the reading easy and the story intriguing in this transitional reader. Though a ghost story, with a nice goosebumpy chill that most kids will enjoy, it's never too scary. This tone is nicely matched by Leonid Gore's misty grayscale illustrations.
Many authors have discovered that there's something deliciously creepy about characters in paintings, and Bauer adds the intriguing variation of infinite levels of paintings within paintings. Combined with a forest/playhouse setting, and the magical idea of entering into a painting, this is a story that will keep young readers reading. And that's the purpose of a transitional novel -- to introduce this age to the pleasures of literature.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about ghosts and ghost stories. Do you think they are real or just fun campfire-story entertainment? Have you ever seen or heard anything you couldn't explain? Why might some people believe in ghosts even without solid evidence? Why are they so often portrayed as mean and scary?
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Kid, 12 years old
November 5, 2010
AGE
perfect for 3rd 4th 5th 6th
I love that Emily's character adn when I was reading this book my heart was pounding when I was reading the important parts
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AGE
Not for younger kids: fire-setting, no water safety, sad/menacing ghost
Reserve this for an older kid (10+?) reading below grade level, as a book that though relatively simple to read will hold an older kid's interest.
The book is well written, with a quite clever, very well-executed premise (of going deeper into into a receding series of paintings), and with numerous good illustrations adding to the story.
But I do not recommend it for younger kids. Emily leaves her 4 year old brother alone in the woods next to a stream -- no water safety message there.
And I am wary of any fire-setting theme in a book for young kids: here the ghost girl is described as having died in what was perhaps a self-set fire, and Emily's 4 year old brother has a habit of going around with matches and their eventual escape is when he (the 4 year old) sets a fire! (Which, by the way, is a clever resolution of their predicament -- I just don't like a positive result to fire-setting by a 4 year old!) And overall, the ghosts are sad and a bit malicious; that faint air of menace will appeal to (especially older) kids, but I don't care for menacing ghosts with younger readers.
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| Author: | Marion Dane Bauer |
| Illustrators: | Bob Graham, Leonid Gore |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Random House |
| Publication date: | July 10, 2007 |
| Number of pages: | 96 |
| Hardcover price: | $11.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 6 - 9 |
| Read aloud: | 6 |
| Read alone: | 7 |
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