Customer Reviews

The House of Dies Drear

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Virginia Hamilton does a superb job of combining historical facts with mystery. This book is about a boy who moves in to a house that used to be part of the Under Ground Railroad. When Dies Drear, the original owner of the old house, sends 3 slaves on a mission back to slavery to give slaves money to help them escape to freedom the legend begins. 2 of the three slaves were killed, and one fled to the north, the ghosts of the 2 slaves were said to have murdered Dies Drear the very same week. When Thomas's family moves in, Thomas finds out that there is an exquisite network of tunnels that run all through the house... he also finds out that the ghosts of Dies Drear and the 2 slaves are said to haunt the old, gloomy house. When strange things start happening, Thomas begins to beleive that there really are ghosts. Then, one night, while Thomas and his father are determined to find out who-or what is creating these strange happenings,, the mystery starts to unravel. This book got directly to the point, and kept me hooked. I couldn't stop reading this book, it is one of the best books I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone-whether you get scared easily, or love horror novels!

This story is about a boy named Thomas and his family, the Smalls, who move int a new house called Dies Drear. This house was used for slaves who wanted to return to savery or escape from it. Many things happen to them where they point to an old that is mysterious, but for a good reason, as the bad guy. Strange things happen to them while they are there, and it panics them because they are worried that something might happen to their family. Mr. Small, Thomas's father, and Thomas try to find their way through this big secret that they know is being kept from them. Finally they capture the old mysterious man and they find out that he isn't the bad guy at all, he was just trying to protect Dies Drear, because he didn't know whether he could trust the Small's or if they were on the other guy's side. He kept the secret of what the winding tunnels under the house held. Together the old man and the Smalls scare off the bad guys, at least for a little while. The old man now knows and trust that the Smalls will kept the treasure of the tunnels safe, so he doesn't have to protect them any more. That is how the story ends.
I like this book because it has a lot a mysery and history to it, and I thought it was really unique. I am not a book-reader, but I can tell you that this book isn't just for people who like to read books it is definitely for every type of book reader. I hope you decide to read this book, because it is a really great book in my opinion.

Thomas Small and his family move into an old, gloomy house that once belonged to the abolitionist Dies Drear in Virginia Hamilton's book The House of Dies Drear. The house is filled with secrets and is said to be haunted by two runaway slaves. The Smalls are skeptical of the old caretaker, Pluto. Locals believe that Pluto is the devil, but the Smalls are not so sure. Thomas is fearful for his family's safety and thinks they should flee the old house. Will the Smalls survive the house of Dies Drear? Middle grade students who are looking for mysteries will enjoy this book.

This novel is appealing for students in grades five through eight, who have studied the Underground Railroad. The vocabulary used in the book will challenge middle school readers. Middle school aged boys and girls will be able to identify to Thomas because he in middle school. Thomas faces several problems that kids face today. One very common situation that many kids are faced with is moving. Thomas and his family are new to Ohio and Thomas is learning to cope with being the new kid in town.

The House of Dies Drear creates a suspenseful mood. At the conclusion of each chapter, readers are captivated by a desire to continue reading to find out what will happen next. An example of Hamilton's suspenseful technique is when Mr. Small states, "Nobody talking about ghosts and chanting verse is going to scare us out of this house. Nobody is going to take it away from us."

The House of Dies Drear brings the Underground Railroad to life for readers. Throughout the book Virginia Hamilton gives vivid descriptions of the secret passages within the house and grounds. Descriptions of the passages provide readers with very detailed pictures of what they look like. Diagrams are added to improve the understanding of the book. With all of the description given, readers will be able to make a clear picture of everything that is going on in the book.

This Newbery Award winning book is certain to keep readers entertained from beginning to end.

I am enjoying this book! It's the best book I've ever read in school. It's not boring or hard to understand! I love the mysteries and excitment! I LOVE IT!!!!

Wow!Best book I ever read!So scary, with a blotch of sorrow.Thomas, a young boy,who's mind is based on Adventure,will discover what it was like for slaves, on the run!His new house, huge, has secrets.He wants to know them as he sees things.Things that cringe,move,and shelter the truth of the house.Meanwhile, his neighbors know the secrets.It's a winding tale of Mystery, Suspense, And Adventure.I rate it 5 stars, two thumbs, and one heaping helping of goodtime laughter!

The House of Dies Drear is an exellent book! A thriller, Thomas Small is a clever 13-year-old black boy who moves from plain farm lands to the wonderous sopposedly haunted house of the lengerdary Underground Railrod wonder Dies Drear. Thomas is a trouble seeker, and boy does he find it! The 1st few chatpers are a big boring, but after that, it's all uphill! Sevret passagways, a haunted groundskeeper Mr. Pluto, and confusion mixed in with it! It is very interesting and it makes you think! There is a lot of background on the Underground Railroad! I can't WAIT to read the sequal, but hopefully the ending of it will be better. Yes, the ending of this book is very... dissapointing! Basicially, everything works out the way that you would think it would, but then it's all downhill from there! But, it is still an exellent book that I would deffinetly reccomned to anyone that likes to read! I loved it, but it could have had a better ending. It's like a mystery... it starts down low, goes up way high, then kind of drags. But still, a thriller! I LOVED IT!

I had to read this book as a class project, and I must say, it was a let down. I thought that this would be an interesting ghost story, with a haunted house... was I wrong. The plot seems dragged out, and the end is just flat. I was looking for something more like a chilling ghost story, and I did not find it here.

The book The House Of Dies Drear was an extrodinary book that brings back the many wonders of slavery and freedom. It is a historical story that involves the underground railroad and a house full of mysteries. A colored family called the Smalls moves into an old house that once belonged to Dies Drear, a freer of slaves untill he was murdered. It also was a stop for slaves on the underground railroad. When wierd things start happening the family becomes curious, and adventurous. Trying to befriend the community they become aware of the myths their house holds. Some of the most interesting parts take place in the underground tunnels beneath the Smalls house. Pluto was my favorite character because you don't know what his real identity is untill close to the end. Pluto tricks the Smalls many times throughout the story and gives it many twists. He lives in a cave with a secret room full of priceless treasures from slaves many centuries ago. At the end the Smalls get a great responsibility and much respect from the rest of the community. This was a very interesting book that I really enjoyed reading. It was hard to stop reading this book. I reccomend The House of Dies Drear to people from the ages 8-16, it may be too hard for children younger than that to understand.

This story is about a young boy named Thomas and his family moving to a new house in Ohio. The house that they moved into was known as the House of Dies Drear. Dies Drear was a guy who was in charge of the underground railrad. The underground railroad was used so that slaves could flee to the north and escape slavery. Lets move on to the main plot of the story. The main plot is that the Darrows[ a family] keeps trying to break into the the cave that came with the property of the house. This cave held valubles thst Drear use to own. There was also a guy named Mr. Pluto that lived in the cave so that they could keep up the keep of the cave and to protect it so that no one would steel anything out of it. So once they found out that the Darrows kept trying to steel things they thought of a prank to pull on them. I dont want to give to much a way so t you guys will have to read the book to find out what they do to them. Throughout the book old Mr. Pluto was getting ill so at the end of the story Mr. Pluto gives the belongings to Mr .Small Thomas's dad to look after. I actually really enjoyed this book, and sorry to say but i dont like to read. The book had adventure,mystery, and a little touch of history because of the slavs and all, but other wise I thought the book kept you gussing almost the whole time so that made it a really good.

Okay, I'm going to be brutally honest. I didn't like this book very much. I expected it to be a lot better. We had to read it in 6th grade, and my teacher said it was really good. Obviously we have very different tastes. I found myself drudging through the chapters. It was veeerrrryy boring and confusing. Virginia Hamilton did not describe what was going on very well, so I had a difficult time picturing the story. And I HATED Thomas!! He just seemed convieniantly(sp?) smart so the plot(or what was left of it) could flow more easily. Ehh maybe I'm being a bit harsh, perhaps I just don't like this genre. But I can't recommend it, I'm sorry.