Beware the Gingerbread House (Raven Hill Mysteries #3) [Paperback]

Emily Rodda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2005 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Another crime-busting adventure from the internationally bestselling author of Deltora Quest!

Sunny has always been terrified of the Gingerbread House, a peculiar pastry shop with a giant cage for trapping naughty children. Now she's been asked to lend the place a helping hand!
The rest of the Help-for-Hire crew quickly agrees with Sunny, as soon as they discover a not-so-sweet surprise: Somebody's putting dead things in the tasty treats. And the team's fractured fairy tale is only just beginning. . . .
Sunny and her friends have to act fast. Nobody wants the Gingerbread House to crumble - not if Help-for-Hire will take the blame.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-Six high school friends form an odd-jobs team to earn extra income. Help-for-Hire advertises We'll do anything! Unfortunately, the teens quickly find that their tasks often include more than they bargained for. They contract to distribute a local newspaper, but it is under attack by a new journal whose owners will do anything to eliminate the competition. An apparently simple cleaning job at a magic shop leads to investigation of a robbery and assault scheme. A stint as costumed waiters at a mall bakery involves money-laundering and organized crime. Each book is told from the point of view of a different team member. This device allows a level of character development unusual in series fiction. As each narrator describes the action, his/her own issues and concerns-family, school, and personal-are revealed. The mystery solution derives from the way each one faces and handles these concerns. Liz (Ghost), the practical organizer, comes to accept the possibility of the unexplainable. Joker Tom (Apprentice) develops responsibility and self-control through his job in a magic shop. Athletically talented Sunny (Gingerbread) uses her physical training to save her friends from a murderer and gains the self-confidence to stand up to her competitive father. Each narrator also comments on the other members of the team, giving readers an increasingly detailed understanding of the group dynamic. The action is brisk and exciting and the dialogue is lively and occasionally humorous. Ghost and Apprentice are bound together in a single volume. Worthwhile entries in a new series.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (December 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439782481
• ISBN-13: 978-0439782487
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)