THE SECRET OF THE PAINTED HOUSE

Like The Blue Ghost (2005), Bauer’s latest is a well-written beginning chapter book with plenty of suspense and mystery to keep young readers turning pages. After she and her family move into a new home, Emily is delighted to discover a playhouse in the forest behind the house. The strange thing is that there is a forest painted inside of it. . .and inside that painting, another playhouse. . .ad infinitum. As if this isn’t scary enough, Emily’s little brother Logan steps into the painting and is lured further and further into a series of identical painted worlds by Penelope, the girl, now dead, to whom the original playhouse had once belonged. While this rather gothic offering has the potential to scare or confuse some younger readers, it’s ideal for those braver souls intrigued by the eerie and the supernatural. There is also a valuable message woven into the tale, as Emily learns through this scare just how very important are the ordinary, even annoying things in her life, such as her little brother. (Fiction. 6-9)