Araminta Spookie 5: Ghostsitters

I am a fifty something adult who enjoys reading children's books. This is a great book. Araminta discovers a great big slug in the lettuce sandwich of life when she and her friend are left to the attentions of her cousin while Uncle Drac and Aunt Tabby go on a trip. Poltergiests wreck the house and Araminta is worried about having a lousy birthday. Everything turns out great though. This book has great humor which is probably too subtle for the age group it's written for but great for 5O year old gals.

The 1st book was given to my daughter on Halloween by a family member. At 4 years old, my daughter loved the book so i bought the whole series. Awesome and thrilling stories for children. Not scary at all just humorous. Great series!

Gift for granddaughter and was sent direct to her home in CA. She is older now but loved these books.

my kid loved it

Awesome read

In the final book of the Araminta Spookie series, Araminta and Wanda are going to be left home alone while all the adults go on a tour of a bat cave. Originally, Uncle Drac’s creepy mother was supposed to come babysit but she no longer can make it. So Mahtilda decides to do it instead, but she doesn’t come alone. Along with her she brought two ghosts, Ned and Jed, that follow her everywhere. Her parents are ghost removers and they removed Ned and Jed (two poltergeists) from a home after Mahtilda explained to them that haunting that house would be boring. Now Ned and Jed go everywhere with her and she can’t get rid of them. Ned and Jed begin harassing Sir Horace to the point that he informs everyone that is will no longer be staying at Spookie House. Araminta and Wanda have to do whatever it takes to get Sir Horace to stay in Spookie House before it is too late! On top of everything else, Araminta’s birthday is coming up and no one seems to care (except Uncle Drac of course)!

Araminta's birthday week offers tons of surprises, both good and bad. Aunt Tabby has won a free trip for four to Transylvania to explore the caves of the giant bats. How exciting! The bad news: Aunt Tabby and Uncle Drac are taking Araminta's best friend Wanda's parents with them, and Araminta will have to stay home. On second thought, maybe that's not such bad news after all. She can have a birthday party with ghosts. Until Aunt Tabby reveals the really bad news: Great-aunt Emilene has agreed to babysit.Araminta can't believe it. Great-aunt Emilene? She'd rather be babysat by frogs or bats or even ghosts. And when Great-aunt Emilene fails to show, there's no relief. Aunt Tabby simply hijacks the hearse that Great-aunt Emilene sent to deliver her no-show message and takes off to collect Nurse Beryl Watkins, a sharp-tongued martinet who makes Great-aunt Emilene look like a pussy cat.Aunt Tabby and Uncle Drac take off, and Araminta and Wanda endure a dreadful night with Nurse Watkins, eating parsnip soup and going to bed early. But in the morning, there's a lovely surprise. Araminta's Cousin Mathilda, with her cool black coat and even cooler black hat with dead things pinned to it, arrives to take over babysitting responsibilities. How awesome! Except that Cousin Mathilda doesn't come alone. She brings along a pair of naughty poltergeists, Ned and Jed, who delight in throwing, stomping on and breaking things --- especially Araminta's very favorite onion and cheese chips, which crumble with a lovely crunchy sound. Pretty soon, Araminta and Wanda are spending hours cleaning up after the poltergeists, while Mathilda barricades herself in her room all night and sleeps until noon.The next day, things just get worse. Mathilda and even Wanda (that traitor!) take off and go shopping, leaving Araminta alone with two terrible ghosts. What kind of birthday is this? When Ned and Jed torment her old friend Sir Horace (old as in very old, as in 500 years old) and he threatens to leave Spookie House, she feels like she's lost her last best friend. And maybe she has. This hasn't been much of a birthday. Can she figure out a way to restore Sir Horace's dignity, put Ned and Jed in their place, and give herself a wonderful birthday celebration after all? Well, she's Araminta Spookie, isn't she? She can always come up with a plan! The question is, will it all work out the way she thinks it will?Araminta Spookie returns in this fifth installment of her adventures, bringing the same surprises, quirkiness and spookiness that readers have come to expect. GHOSTSITTERS is another fast-paced effort from Angie Sage, full of ghosts and endless fun.

{My thoughts} – Araminta is excited because her birthday is coming up and she is looking forward to celebrating. However, her Aunt Tabby wins a contest and all the adults go on a trip leaving the children behind in the care of other adults.It turns out that her Great Aunt can’t make it to babysit, but her cousin does. Her cousin and Wanda then plan a surprise prefer Araminta without her every figuring out a thing about it.While Araminta is sad about not being able to celebrate her birthday the way she wanted to she decides to help Sir Horace. Sir Horace’s castle is up for auction and she’s determined to get it back for him.The end of the book blends both situations together and wraps it all up in a neat little bow.I am sure any child that likes a bit of mystery and paranormal mixed together can easily enjoy this series as much as I have been. I really am enjoying this series and am looking forward to starting the next book.

Disappointed to find that the supplied book is a US version with Americanised spellings and words despite the author being British. e.g. 'Trunk' instead of boot, 'flashlight' instead of torch, 'tires' instead of tyres. The printed price on the rear of the book is only listed in Dollars and not pounds, thus strengthening this belief.

great for younger children

great book.