THE GHOST, THE WHITE HOUSE, AND ME

Now that they live in the White House, 11-year-old KayKay Granger has the perfect opportunity to hone her mystery-writing skills by sleeping in Lincoln’s bedroom. But first she has to convince her mother, the president, to let her do it and her more timid younger sister to keep her company. After all, the rumors of its haunting might just be true. St. George, author of numerous mysteries as well as So You Want to Be President (2000), provides an imaginative glimpse behind the scenes at the White House in this ghost story for middle-grade readers. The premise, being children of the first female president, is intriguing. Character development takes a back seat to plot and setting; the off-limits Family Floor is the centerpiece here, with detailed descriptions of the long hallways and lavishly decorated rooms. While KayKay and Annie are thoroughly frightened by a parental trick, the actual ghost KayKay encounters is presented as completely ordinary, perhaps just a dream. A solid and not especially scary introduction to the ghost-story genre. (Fiction. 8-12)