Over My Dead Body (43 Old Cemetery Road) [Hardcover]

Kate Klise (Author), M. Sarah Klise (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2009 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: 43 Old Cemetery Road (Book 2)

The International Movement for the Safety & Protection Of Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY) dictates that Seymour cannot live in the mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road "without the benefit of parents." Ignatius B. Grumply tries to explain to Dick Tater, the head of IMSPOOKY, that he and Seymour are in a lovely living (and publishing!) arrangement with the ghost of Olive C. Spence. Dick Tater is not convinced. But this clever trio can’t be broken up as easily as he imagines . . .

This companion to Dying to Meet You, the first book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series, is another spooky tale told in letters, drawings, newspaper articles, and television scripts.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—Having been abandoned by his parents in Dying to Meet You (Harcourt, 2009), 11-year-old Seymour Hope is happily living and writing at 43 Old Cemetery Road in collaboration with his friends, author Ignatius B. Grumply and 190-year-old ghost-writer-in-residence Olive C. Spence. The trio's serialized "true" supernatural stories are widely popular. Ambitious busybody Dick Tater, head of the International Movement for the Safety & Protection of Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY), sees their somewhat irregular arrangement as an opportunity to push his anti-ghost, anti-Halloween agenda. Tater has Grumply committed to the Illinois Home for the Deranged, locks Seymour in a Dickensian orphanage, and announces that Halloween is cancelled. Only Olive's hidden manuscripts can save the day—if she can remember where she hid them. The story is told through letters, newspaper clippings, and interview transcripts. Text styles help differentiate the characters—invisible Olive types in an ornate outline font while Seymour's notes are hand written, often including black-and-white sketch illustrations. The names are amusing, although they don't always match the characters. (The local locksmith is Ike N. Openitt while the feisty librarian, who staunchly resists Tater's book burners, is called M. Balm). References to Grumply's incarceration in the "nuthouse" and "loony bin" and Seymour's "possible mental illness" are unfortunate in a book with an otherwise strong underlying theme of individuality and freedom of choice. All in all, the short, graphic-heavy text and broad humor will appeal to middle grade readers.—Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL END

Review

"The short, graphic-heavy text and broad humor will appeal to middle grade readers."--School Library Journal 

"The laughter continues in this second installment of the Klises' series about a ghost and her friends. As in the first book, Dying to Meet You, the entire story is told through letters, newspaper articles and the like and is adorned with M. Sarah Klise's amusing line drawings. . . . [A] light, diverting romp."--Kirkus Reviews

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (October 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015205734X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152057343
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Adoption
  • #95 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Celebrations > Halloween

More About the Author

KATE KLISE is an author of many genres. She has written picture books, as well as middle-grade novels, all illustrated by her sister, Sarah. She has also written two young adult novels and is a freelance reporter for People magazine. Kate lives and writes in Norwood, Missouri. www.kateandsarahklise.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Over My Dead Body!, August 1, 2009

By 

Barbara Sharpe (Kalamazoo, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over My Dead Body (43 Old Cemetery Road) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I love children's books and ghosts stories, so I was excited to get Over My Dead Body. When I got it ... well, I was alarmed by the format of the book and was prepared to dislike it. It's entirely written as a graphic novel or as letters between various people, along with excerpts from the local newspaper. It sounds confusing, and I thought it would be, but it wasn't. It was easy to follow and fun to read.

The story is essentially this: Seymour Hope is living with Ignatius Grumply and Olive C. Spence in a mansion that Seymore bought from his parents, after his parents left him alone to go to Paris. Seymour, Ignatius and Olive, who happens to be the ghost of a woman who died more than 100 years ago, write ghost stories and sell them to the townspeople of Ghastly, IL. Dick Tater, of IMSPOOKY (International Movement for the Saftey and Protection of Our Kids & Youth), receives an anonymous letter that Seymour is living in nebuluous circumstances and steps in. Grumply is committed to the Illinois Home for the Deranged and Seymour is taken the Ghastly Orphanage. No one believes that Olive exists, so she's left alone in the mansion. How do Olive, Seymour and Igantius reunite? That's the story here.

While I enjoyed the book, and I think younger children will, it might be "too young" for 11-12 year olds. However, younger children will very likely enjoy not only the story, but the format as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars kyle, December 8, 2011

By 

kyle - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Over My Dead Body (43 Old Cemetery Road) (Paperback)

This book was very interesting. It is written in letters and an unusual way to read a book. I kept wanting to pick it up to finish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kate and Sarah Klise Do It Again, October 24, 2011

By 

Michele Kingery - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over My Dead Body (43 Old Cemetery Road) (Paperback)

Ghostly Olive, grumpy Ignatius and their adopted son, Seymour, have to work hard to keep their little family together in this sequel to Dying to Meet You, book one of the 43 Cemetery Road series. This time, they're up against "Dick Tater", the creepy, megalomaniac director of the International Movement for the Safety & Protection Of Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY). Tater sends Seymour to an orphanage, has Ignatius committed and tries to do away with Halloween - turning it, instead, into a Dick Tater Day Celebration.

As in the first book, the story is creatively structured through a succession of letters, drawings and newspaper articles that make this an entertaining read. In this book we find out just how awful Seymour's birth parents really are and what became of Olive's manuscripts. In fact, books, and a bookmobile may save the day, hopefully in enough time for Olive, Ignatius and Seymour to create the next installment of their ghostly tales.

This story of three "lost" and lonely people who find their way to each other is as charming as the first. And with Seymour and Ignatius in danger, the stakes are higher. Will Seymour's real parents come back to claim him? Will Olive's manuscripts resurface in time to do any good? Will Seymour, Ignatius and Olive continue their writing career? Will Dick Tater succeed with his evil plan to banish Halloween forever?

The delightful drawings, quirky character names and spooky-fun setting of the Spence mansion all add up to another enjoyable book with a message about family at the heart of it. Hurrah for Kate and Sarah Klise. I look forward to the next book in the series.