The Haunted Library 7 – The Ghost in the Tree House

Dori Hillestad Butler's The Ghost in the Tree House is a gently spooky mystery for 5 year olds, and the seventh book in the Haunted Library series.

What happens

Kaz is a ghost. He lives in a library with Claire, a girl who can see and hear ghosts when other people can't, and together they run C & K Ghost Detectives.

Their new case comes from three girls at Claire's school. Their club meets in a tree house in the woods, and odd things keep happening there. The door slams shut on its own. A spooky voice tells them to go away. Margaret even saw something bluish bobbing in the window at night.

Could it really be a ghost? Or is it the boys next door, hoping to frighten them off so they can have the tree house for their own club?

For Kaz it matters more than usual. His ghost family were scattered when their old haunt was knocked down, and every case might lead him to one of them. This time, very early on, one of those missing ghosts turns up in Margaret's living room.

What makes these so good for young readers is the ghost rules. Ghosts shrink and swim and pass through walls. They glow so people can see them and wail so people can hear them. Kaz and his little brother Little John travel to cases inside Claire's water bottle (Pops is VERY unsure about that). And Claire's ghost catcher is really a handheld hoover wrapped in foil.

It's mysterious rather than frightening. Kids get a real puzzle to follow, with clues and suspects, but nothing that'll keep them up at night.

There's a nice little thread about who's allowed in which club, too. Margaret's little brother Henry isn't welcome in the boys' gang or the girls' one, and his mum has something to say about that. Plenty of children will recognise that feeling.

If your reader likes a mystery with a shiver in it but not a scare, this series is a very good fit. There's a handy ghostly glossary at the start for words like skizzy (which is how a ghost feels just before being sick).

What to read next

To see how Kaz ended up at the library in the first place, go back to the first Haunted Library book, where a wrecking ball and a gust of wind carry him away from his old schoolhouse and straight into Claire's path.