A family of ghosts is forced to seek a new home when they have to leave their old one because of progress in the human world. New houses with central heating are bad news for the ghosts because their old haunts (sorry) are being knocked down, paved over or modernised.
The ghosts spend the night in a boarding school and are discovered by Rick when he spots youngest ghost Humphrey's elbow floating at the end of his bed. He and his friend Barbara try to help the ghosts find a sanctuary and in turn meet an extended ghostly community including a shuck and a colony of vampire bats (lead by cousin Susie). A betrayal and a twist at the end kept me gripped through the book and I loved George the Screaming Skull so much I used to play at being one (sorry Mum and neighbours). It's still a lovely, funny and sad book for children and is still on my bookshelves. ( )

If the Addams family had been ghosts...well, this might have been what they were like! We start out here with a "family" of ghosts living in an old castle...the mother, a hag looking, well, like a hag and smelling of the worst things (always changing to suite her moods, naturally); the father, a Gliding Kilt (legs lost in a battle); their son, the screaming skull (and boy can he scream); their daughter (a wailing ghost); their second son, Humphrey the Horrible...who it turns out is less horrible than he and his family would really like and of course Aunt Hortensia with her phantom coach and missing head!

As it turns out, ghosts all over the world are being turned out of their dark, dank, horribly perfect homes by...PROGRESS. Human's, the living, are doing what we always do...paving over, knocking down, renovating, and making things livable for US. Unfortunately for the ghosts this is very, very bad! In fact, it's downright harmful. Our family of intrepid ghosts is ousted from their home to make way for a resort...quite revolting a development for these horrible haunts!

On the move, our hauntless family meet up with Rick at a brief stop over at a boarding school, who with the help of his super smart friend Barbara determined what needs to be done to right the ghost's homeless situation. A short time later, the ghosts (and Rick) are off to London to meet with their member of Parliament to set up a Ghost Sanctuary. This story is all about their adventure to London, what they have to do to get in to see the Prime Minister, where the ghost wind up...and there is even a twist at the end...just when you think all is going to turn out splendidly!

This story manages to tie together grossness, creepy settings, morbid details, humor and family values into one romping good adventure that even manages to include a message about being yourself and accepting who you are. The Great Ghost Rescue is great for young readers who have made the transition to chapter books but still need a relatively simple plot and minimal drawings (there are a number of black and white/pen & ink drawings to bring some additional life to the story...heh). I know when my daughter made the transition to longer chapter books, she needed one's that were both entertaining but with minimal plot twists so that she could read the words AND get to enjoy the story...this book allows for that in spades. Aimed at ages 9-12, I'd say ages 8-10 would probably enjoy it most as the plot and writing style might be too simple for older readers to find engaging. I rate this at four stars, it's just the right blend of gross details (given a humorous twist), morbid bent, a bit of mystery and a liberal dash of adventure that is perfectly engaging for young readers!! ( )

A young boy has to help out a bunch of spooks and monsters that are down on their luck and lacking in real estate. An excellent kid's book. Headless types, vampires, ghosts, they all need somewhere to stay. When redevelopment and eviction loom, the local inhabitants need a human helping hand to settle their future.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12... ( )

found it boring and didactic