{"id":9382,"date":"2026-04-13T12:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-secret-room-haunted-library\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T13:20:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T13:20:01","slug":"the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room","status":"publish","type":"our-books","link":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/","title":{"rendered":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dori Hillestad Butler&#8217;s The Secret Room is a gentle ghost mystery for 5 year olds about a ghost boy who finally dares to swim through a wall.<\/p>\n<p>Kaz is a ghost. He lives in a library with his little brother Little John, their ghost dog Cosmo and a grumpy older ghost called Beckett. There&#8217;s also Claire, a girl who lives there with her family and is the only person who can see them.<\/p>\n<p>Kaz has always hated passing through walls (it makes him feel skizzy). But behind the bookshelf in the craft room is a hidden room, and today he makes it all the way in.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s full of floating ghostly things. A rag doll with red yarn hair, keys, socks, a jack-in-the-box. And one solid envelope marked TOP SECRET that none of the ghosts can open.<\/p>\n<p>Claire can&#8217;t get in at all, because there&#8217;s no door. So how did anything solid end up in there?<\/p>\n<p>Then a class trip to the town museum turns up a clue. The library was once a grand house, built by a man who made his fortune from a soda pop with a secret recipe. Nobody has ever found it. Could it be in that envelope?<\/p>\n<p>This is the fifth Haunted Library book, so Kaz and Claire have solved a few cases already. You pick up the ghost rules quickly, though. Ghosts can shrink, glow and swim through the air, and solids are what they call people.<\/p>\n<p>Kaz is a worrier, and he&#8217;s lovely company. Little John is the total opposite, bold and bouncy and always asking why not now. Their squabbling feels just like real brothers.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a proper little mystery too. Claire keeps a detective notebook, the clues build nicely, and her mum starts acting very oddly whenever the hidden room comes up.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve got a young reader who likes a ghost story that isn&#8217;t actually scary, this is ideal.<\/p>\n<p>Kaz and Claire&#8217;s story starts in the first Haunted Library book. That&#8217;s where Kaz gets blown out of his old haunt, lands in the library and first teams up with Claire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dori Hillestad Butler&#8217;s The Secret Room is a gentle ghost mystery for 5 year olds about a ghost boy who finally dares to swim through a wall. Kaz is a ghost. He lives in a library with his little brother Little John, their ghost dog Cosmo and a grumpy older ghost called Beckett. There&#8217;s also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11846,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":9111,"lr_next_read_anchor":"the first Haunted Library book","lr_seo_hook":"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET.","lr_series_id":91,"lr_series_name":"The Haunted Library","lr_series_position":5,"lr_series_label":""},"book_tag":[1045],"age_group":[21],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[269],"class_list":["post-9382","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-adventure-books","age_group-books-for-5-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-dori-hillestad-butler"],"yoast_title":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Little Reads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-06T13:20:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"351\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"522\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-13T12:32:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-06T13:20:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg\",\"width\":351,\"height\":522},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our Library\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/our-library\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/\",\"name\":\"Little Reads\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Little Reads\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/logo-horizontal-dark.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/logo-horizontal-dark.svg\",\"width\":366,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Little Reads\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/readingmate.co.uk\\\/littlereads\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads","description":"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads","og_description":"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","og_url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/","og_site_name":"Little Reads","article_modified_time":"2026-10-06T13:20:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":351,"height":522,"url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/","url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/","name":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room by Dori Hillestad Butler | Little Reads","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-04-13T12:32:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-06T13:20:01+00:00","description":"A hidden room full of floating things and an envelope marked TOP SECRET. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704190227883.jpeg","width":351,"height":522},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/the-haunted-library-5-the-secret-room\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Our Library","item":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/our-library\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Haunted Library 5 &#8211; The Secret Room"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#website","url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/","name":"Little Reads","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#organization","name":"Little Reads","url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/logo-horizontal-dark.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/logo-horizontal-dark.svg","width":366,"height":70,"caption":"Little Reads"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our-books\/9382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our-books"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/our-books"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"book_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book_tag?post=9382"},{"taxonomy":"age_group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age_group?post=9382"},{"taxonomy":"book_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book_type?post=9382"},{"taxonomy":"book_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book_author?post=9382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}