43 Old Cemetery Road: Book One - Dying to Meet You

Dear Olive,

When I moved into your house, I thought I'd made a terrible mistake.  The last thing I wanted was an 11-year-old boy and his cat to babysit for the summer.

But Olive, you showed me what it means to care for someone again....

This book had me at the cover.  I couldn't resist the whimsical drawing of the haunted old house or the character standing in front of it dressed in a plaid coat with a messenger bag draped across his shoulder.  His name is Ignatius B. Grumply.  He is a writer with a "wicked case of writer's block".  He has rented the house at number 43 for the summer to work on a long overdue novel.  

Ignatius doesn't count on the house being occupied by Seymour, his cat, Shadow and a resident ghost, Olive.  Will Seymour drive Ignatius crazy?  Will Olive scare him out of the house?  Will the novel ever get written?

Kate and Sarah Klise have written and illustrated a wonderful story told in letters, drawings and newspaper articles.  On the surface, it's a children's book about a haunted house and the people who inhabit it.  On a deeper level, it's a story of three lonely people and how they connect to themselves, and each other.  

I loved this book.  Good news - there are two more in the series and book four comes out in May of 2012!!

43 Old Cemetery Road:  Book One

Dying to Meet You

written and illustrated by Kate and M. Sarah Klise