The Ghosts of Rathburn Park [Library Binding]

Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Eleven-year-old Matthew Hamilton–a.k.a. The Hamster–is new in town, and just about the first thing he does is get lost in the woods of Rathburn Park. It’s a typical boneheaded thing to do, and Matt is trying to decide whether starvation is preferable to the embarrassment of a rescue party when a little dog trots past him. Matt senses that the dog wants him to follow, but as soon as they emerge from the trees, the dog vanishes.

Matt keeps wondering about the dog as he starts to learn more about the town’s strange past. Owned by a wealthy family named Rathburn, the whole town burned down decades ago and was rebuilt nearby. The old ruins are still hidden in the forest, too rickety and dangerous to go near. But they are also best avoided for another reason–ghosts. Still, Matt can’t resist looking for the dog, and as he’s looking, he meets a girl dressed in antique clothes who calls herself Amelia Rathburn. Are she and the dog both ghosts? Or is there another explanation for the strange goings-on in Rathburn Park?


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran novelist Snyder (Spyhole Secrets) offers up a contemporary mystery more satisfying for its wonderfully delineated cast than, perhaps, for its plot. Matthew Hamilton, a gawky 11-year-old, has just moved to Timber City, where his dad has been hired as city manager. While his older brother and sister almost immediately start making friends, Matt is more solitary. A story about ghosts appearing near Rathburn Park, home to an old mansion and, also, before a deadly fire swept through it, the original site of the town, prompts Matt to investigate. He meets a girl in old-fashioned dress (who dons white gloves and a hat held in place with a hatpin), and he is thrilled when she introduces herself as Amelia Rathburn-and stymied when, shortly afterward, he learns that the only Amelia Rathburn on the premises is almost 100 years old. Those who have read E.L. Konigsburg's Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth will know exactly what's coming; those who haven't will probably be able to guess the flesh-and-blood identity of the titular "ghosts." While this isn't Snyder's most suspenseful tale, her gifts for fashioning lifelike and sympathetic characters are as pronounced as ever, as is her understanding of family dynamics. The payoff here is the storytelling itself. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-The Hamiltons have just moved to Timber City. The family's introduction to the town is the July Fourth picnic at Rathburn Park. It is there that Matt hears about the fire that destroyed the original town and the ghosts that haunt the park. He wanders away from the picnic, gets lost in the forest, and is led out by a small dog that no one else can see. Then he meets Amelia, a mysterious girl dressed in old-fashioned clothes. They explore the burned-out church, the old Rathburn house, and the swamp as Amelia leads Matt, and orders him around. These two main characters are finely drawn, as are Matt's two older siblings. Suspense is created as the 11-year-old tries to connect the history of the area to the tales Amelia tells him. This skillfully told story is full of both history and middle-grade concerns about peer pressure and acceptance.
Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 192 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385900643
• ISBN-13: 978-0385900645
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,925,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Ghost of Rathburn Park, March 11, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Ghosts of Rathburn Park (Paperback)

A kid named Matt Hamilton and his family moved to Timberland.Matt found out freaky things about a Park called Rathburn Park.There is a ghost and a freaky swamp.It is a meduim
sized book for boys and girls.It is good for grades,4,5,and6.It is a suspenseful book and u will never put it down.

4.0 out of 5 stars A good creepy tale, July 25, 2006

By 

Kind Bean "can't read enough" (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghosts of Rathburn Park (Paperback)

The main character in The Ghosts of Rathburn Park is Matt Hamilton, the youngest child of three, and an awkward 11-year-old. His family has just moved to Timber City, where his dad has been hired as city manager. As usual, his older brother and sister almost right away start making friends, yet Matt stays to himself. While his brother starts to hang out with the wrong crowd and tension begins to build up at home, Matt finds solitude in the mysterious Rathburn Park. There he finds a helpful dog and a mysterious girl. There are numerous ghost stories of the park and the old Rathburn mansion, the only house that remains after a fire burnt the town down. The new town was rebuilt in another area, and the stories say that the original land of the town is haunted. Matt can't resist investigating the connections of the girl and all the ghostly tales. The characters are pleasurable and the story is suspenseful. While the story may be predictable to older readers, it is still a well told story with a decent amount of creepiness to it. Many will enjoy this book.