The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring are three magically eerie tales gathered in this one-volume edition. The series opens as Lewis Barnavelt, a newly orphaned ten-year-old, comes to live with his Uncle Johnathan. Little does Lewis...
Gruff and lovable Father Higgins is one of the better supporting characters in John Bellairs' many books.And in "The Secret of the Underground Room," the evil-battling priest slips into the spotlight in an intriguing ghost story. Though not Bellairs' best, it's a chilling and fast-paced thriller ...
After hearing how this book was a "classic" of the fantasy genre, I eagerly grabbed it from my local used book store. After reading it, however, I was left cold and confused. John Bellairs can definitely create unique and haunting imagery, and his "House With a Clock in its Walls" is a fun and sp...
Continuing on in my comfort reading binge, I slipped into juvenile fiction to re-read this John Bellairs book. I loved his books when I was younger -- from the Edward Gorey covers to the creepy mysteries therein I always preferred the Johnny Dixon/Professor Childermass books to the Lewis/Rose Rit...
The thing I love the most about the John Bellairs books is the artwork by Edward Gorey. This story is a bit patchy, but fun to read aloud. Our 'hero' Johnny Dixon spends much of this story in a coma (possibly from some sort of demonic possession, and Fergie and the professor are the heroes in thi...
Mr. Monday worked long hours at his saloon, but he always came home between twelve and two for a leisurely lunch. When Anthony got to his dad’s saloon, he went in the back way, as he always did. Kids weren’t supposed to go into saloons, and Anthony always felt sneaky when he did it. At the back o...
The year was 1948, and it was a warm, windy summer evening. Outside, that is. Lewis could see the moonlit trees tossing gently beyond his window, which was sealed shut like all the windows on the bus. He looked down at his purple corduroy trousers, the kind that go whip-whip when you walk. He put...
Fergie stood watching the robot, with Johnny's head propped up in his hands. The professor's mind was racing—he was trying to remember the name of the thing that you were supposed to use to control the robot. And then it came to him. "The key!" he exclaimed, turning to the old man. "Sloane, you d...
The professor thought of Baltoghlu, the man who had captured them in Leander's Tower. "I've read this script before," he muttered to himself bitterly. Suddenly he found that he could understand the monk, and he knew that Brewster had returned, though he couldn't see him. "Soldiers, do your duty!"...
She unzipped a side pocket of her jacket and pulled out two dirt-caked gardening gloves. She put them on and grimly stepped forward again. Anthony hadn't brought any gloves—he'd have to do his investigating without touching the stones. Slowly Anthony's eyes traveled up and...
Then one evening, as Johnny was sitting by the radio in the parlor, the phone rang. Quickly he snapped off the radio and jumped up. He ran into the front hall and picked up the receiver, and he was not terribly surprised to hear the professor's voice at the other end. He had been expecting to hea...
Later that evening, Lewis tried again, and got her. Both of them tried to apologize at once. Rose Rita had heard from several people about Lewis’s fight with Woody, and she said that she was sorry for having doubted him. Lewis said he was sorry he had lost his temper. By the time the conversation...
They were supposed to be doing their homework, but they were actually there to compare notes about their visit to the professor's study. Naturally they couldn't sit in the main reading room and babble at each other. So they went to the upper level of the stacks, where they could stand behind the ...
They burned in tall and short holders, in black crusty candelabra and china dishes, and their yellow smoky flames flickered in the draft from the open door. In the middle of the room was a low brass table, and the warped chessboard had been placed on it. The bug-eyed walrus ivory chessmen had bee...
He was with us when we went back in time to Constantinople, but after we got back, he disappeared." Professor Childermass crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. The light from the window behind him made his white hair glow almost like a halo in a picture of a saint. A crabby, red-faced sa...
It's gonna be really crummy with you gone for the summer! I don't get along with Miss Pratt, and... well, you know." Anthony Monday and his friend Miss Eells were sitting on a wooden bench, which was perched atop a high embankment in Levee Park in the city of Hoosac, Minnesota. It was a mild day ...