The Haunted Library 6 – The Ghost at the Fire Station

Dori Hillestad Butler's The Ghost at the Fire Station is a gentle ghost mystery for 5 year olds, and it's the sixth book in the Haunted Library series.

What happens

Kaz is a ghost boy who lives in the town library. So do Little John, his little brother, a ghost dog called Cosmo and a very grumpy ghost called Beckett. Claire lives upstairs, and she's the only person who can see Kaz when he isn't glowing. Together they're C & K Ghost Detectives.

This time a firefighter's twins call Claire with a case. Sparky, the new fire station dog, won't go into one particular room. He just sits in the doorway and howls. Firefighters hear moaning in the night, and someone keeps pulling the blankets off them while they sleep!

Kaz is secretly hoping the ghost might be someone from his own family. His mum, his pops and Finn, his big brother, are still lost somewhere in the Outside.

It's full of lovely little details. Claire's dad has only just been told about the ghosts, and his face when a salt shaker vanishes in mid-air is brilliant. Ghosts don't walk here, they swim through the air. And when a ghost feels sick, they feel skizzy.

There's a worrying chapter or two when the alarm goes, the big doors open and Little John disappears in the rush. It's handled gently, but a sensitive reader might want a hand to hold.

The best bit is Kaz himself. He can't glow or wail like the other ghosts yet, and Little John calls him a scaredy ghost (he's especially nervous of very friendly dogs). So when he finally lets out a proper wail by accident, you really feel it with him.

The chapters are short and the pace is quick, which makes it great for children who are just starting to read chapter books on their own. The mystery is spooky enough to be exciting without being scary.

What to read next

If this is your reader's first visit, go back to the very first Haunted Library book. That's where Kaz's old schoolhouse is knocked down and he's blown away from his family into the Outside.