The wrong one

From Booklist Gr. 3-6. After the death of their father, the Spencer children (Kate, Jesse and Sookan) and their mother relocate from Brooklyn to a run-down farmhouse in western Massachusetts. The move is a difficult one, with many strange things that make everyone uneasy--a chilly blue light, a television set that turns itself on and off, wallpaper that spooks Sookan, and an old doll that she insists is "the wrong one." Luckily, the antique toys that the children find bring in needed cash to help the family through a financial crisis, and Agatha Paran, a doll collector who claims to have lived in the farmhouse many years before, provides a few insights into the house's mysteries. Careful readers may be frustrated by the many loose ends: Why did the ghost contact Sookan? What was so terrifying about the wallpaper? And, why is this family so accepting of life in a haunted house? Still, large print and short chapters make this a quick read, and children looking for a not-too-scary-ghost story will be sufficiently entertained. Kay Weisman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved