The Haunted House (Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries) [Paperback]

Peggy Parish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1981 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries

"Oh, no!" said Liza. "I won't live in a haunted house."



The "haunted house' is the old Blake place, and despite Liza's protests, that's where the Roberts family is going to live.



Liza, Bill, and Jed soon realize that something weird is happening in and around their new home. Nearly every morning they find mysterious messages. Strange footprints appear, lights flash, and secret compartments pop open. Is John Blake's ghost responsible? If not, who is?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the Liza, Bill, & Jed Mystery series:

“Liza, Bill, and Jed are sleuths again. . . . Believable characters, surroundings, and situations and an action-packed plot which thickens steadily and surely to a logical solution make a book sure to win Miss Parish even more young fans.”—School Library Journal

“Young readers will be immediately involved . . . and can share the fun and excitement of unscrambling the codes and deciphering the cryptic instructions.”—The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

"Oh, no!" said Liza. "I won't live in a haunted house."

The "haunted house' is the old Blake place, and despite Liza's protests, that's where the Roberts family is going to live.

Liza, Bill, and Jed soon realize that something weird is happening in and around their new home. Nearly every morning they find mysterious messages. Strange footprints appear, lights flash, and secret compartments pop open. Is John Blake's ghost responsible? If not, who is?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (January 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440434599
• ISBN-13: 978-0440434597
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( P ) > Parish, Peggy

More About the Author

The late Peggy Parish, well known for her stories about Amelia Bedelia, wrote many popular books for children, including Dinosaur Time, illustrated by Arnold Lobel.

"I hate reading but your books are changing my opinion." This letter, from a young Peggy Parish fan, comes as no surprise to the teachers and librarians who have put her books in the hands of children over the years. Ms. Parish wrote nearly three dozen children's books-many of which include her most famous character, the literal-minded maid named Amelia Bedelia.

Peggy Parish knew what children like to read. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in English, she taught school in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and, for over 15 years, at the well-known, progressive Dalton School in New York City. It was at Dalton that she began to find ways to release her creative ideas and energy, Though she never took a writing course, "writing stories for children came naturally." Her first book, published in 1961, was followed with Let's Be Indians and in 1963 with her unforgettable Amelia Bedelia.

Always involved with education in some way, Peggy Parish did television pieces on preschool education and children's books, wrote children's book review columns, and led numerous in-service training workshops for teachers. In discussing her ideas about education, she said, "Children's rights are taken away from them when they enter school. What I try to show teachers is that all the skills needed to read can be taught outside of textbooks. Today's children are not going to read what they are not interested in. And if a positive attitude toward reading is not developed during the first three years of school, it is virtually impossible to develop it later."

After living in New York for many years, Peggy Parish returned to her native South Carolina. She died in November, 1988. But Ameila Bedelia did not die. Peggy Parish's nephew, Herman Parish, has written Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia and Bravo, Amelia Bedelia!, published by Greenwillow Books in 1995 and 1997 respectively.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This was the book that initiated my love for reading., April 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted House (Hardcover)

This was the book that initiated my love for reading. As a fourth grader, I was drawn to the title as well as to its apparent 'novel-like' format relative to the slimmer picture books that were on the lower grade shelves in the school library. For the first time, I found myself being pulled into a storyline, so absorbed by the mystery that unfolds that I couldn't put the book down. (I think that it took me two or three days to finish as a nine-year-old, and I found myself re-reading it until I could recite dialogue: "Home," shouted Jed. "Milk and Cookies," shouted Bill. Liza ran to the front door....) I also remember being impressed by how well the family got along, including the three sibling protagonists.

I highly recommend this book as a starter 'novel' for young children who are prone to becoming avid readers. Follow-up with the more complex Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew mysteries, the Chronicles of Narnia, Robertson's "Henry Reed" series, and M. L'Engles "Time Quartet" (A Wrinkle in Time.)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My childhood favorite!, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Haunted House (Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries) (Paperback)

As a child, I read this book from front to back countless times. I loved this book! Haunted House is perfect for young readers. The end result is the love of reading and the fueling of a young mind's imagination. Get this book for a young reader and you've given them a book that is my most cherished childhood story!

5.0 out of 5 stars The Haunted House, September 23, 2011

By 

Book-Lover - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Haunted House (Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries) (Paperback)

Another of the series that I highly recommend! Get this for your children!!!!!! As well as the others that Peggy Parrish has written. You won't regret it!