Saturday, January 24, 2009

Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story by Linda Thieman--Book Review


Follow the adventures of a girl and a ghost in Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story by Linda Thieman.

Katie Russell, her two-year-old brother, Toby, and her parents move into a big, empty house in the country. Well, at least they think it is empty. But after moving in, Katie begins to find objects laying around that don't belong to anyone in the family. Oh, and there's that girlish laughter Katie hears too.

Kimble, the ghost of a ten-year-old girl, appears to Katie and asks her to help find out what happened to Kimble's mother. So Katie and Kimble set out on an adventure that leads them to a graveyard, the granddaughter of the man who started the town's newspaper, and a forest, to uncover the truth.

An excellent start to a new series of chapter books for young readers. Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story explores friendship and the loss of a loved one in such a way that the reader is immediately drawn into the story. In our interview with Linda Thieman, she mentioned the importance of dealing with grief in a realistic way. Katie & Kimble does this, as the girls discover together what happened to Kimble's mother.

There is nothing that will scare a young reader within this book's pages. The mystery is there. The suspense builds as Katie and Kimble investigate what might have happened to Kimble's mother. But at no point is the material presented in such a way that a young reader will experience fear.

Thieman did a wonderful job of portraying both Katie's youth and her growth. Katie is forced to make a decision between helping Kimble and obeying her parents. In the end, this delicate issue is handled well and addressed in an appropriate fashion.

The black and white illustrations by Kim Tharp truly bring Katie and Kimble's world to life in a special way, and one of these illustrations adorns the front cover.

A bit of mystery, a budding friendship, and some wonderful adventures await young readers in Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story.


Title: Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story
Author: Linda Thieman
Publisher: Pale Silver Rainplop Press
ISBN-10: 0-9794396-1-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-9794396-1-2
SRP: $5.95 (U.S.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cheryl--

Thank you for such a wonderful review! I hope your daughter enjoys the book, too. I really appreciate all the time and attention you've devoted to understanding the Katie & Kimble series and presenting it in such an accurate and loving light.

Your readers can download the first six chapters of Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story free of charge from the right sidebar of the Katie & Kimble blog. Click my name.

Linda

Cheryl said...

Thanks for stopping by Linda. I'll let you know how the little one likes it when we read it--which should start this week.

Don't know if you'll pop back in here, but I'll review Book 2 if you like. Just drop me a line.

Thanks for a great read!

Cheryl

Bethanne said...

is this an ebook? my daughter loves mysteries. You do have a wonderful voice for reviews. thanks for sharing.

Cheryl said...

Thanks Bethanne. I'm glad you enjoy my reviews.

Katie & Kimble is available in paperback at Amazon.com and also as an Instant Download. If you go to the Katie & Kimble blog at http://www.katieandkimbleblog.com/ you'll see a link to click on the left-hand sidebar.

I hope your daughter gets a chance to read about Katie and Kimble.

Cheryl