Monday, September 13, 2010

Never Trust a Dead Man - Vivian Vande Velde

This was such a cute book and so worth it's recommendation. Though it sounds like a horror story - it's not really. The book follows Selwyn who is falsly accused of murder and his punishment is to be buried in the tomb with the body. A witch rescues him and helps him solve the murder in exchange for years of service. Selwyn agrees and she brings back the dead boy in the body of a bat. I can not say hilarity ensues but what follows is a touching and entertaining story as Selwyn discovers people are not who they seem to be and there were plenty of secrets in his village. At under 200 pages it's not for the youngest reader but the language is simple (even if some of the names are not) and it's neatly broken into 22 chapters so a strong younger reader could really enjoy it. I would put the level at about 4th grade but the story would interest older readers as well.
Enjoy reading!

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