Reviewed by MF

I read a book called Araminta Spookie 2: The Sword in the Grotto. The author is Angie Sage. The story is about Wanda and Araminta finding a sword for Sir Horace’s birthday. Wanda is interesting because she is crazy! Uncle Drac is Araminta’s Uncle. The funniest part of the story is when Uncle Drac fell out of his sleeping bag and squished his friend Big Bat. I liked the character Sir Horace because he is a ghost and a knight. I would recommend this book because it has a lot of details and a good ending. I would give this book a score of 10 out of 10.

Reviewed by SI

I read the book Araminta Spookie 2: The Sword in the Grotto by Angie Sage. This book is about two girls, Wanda and Araminta, who need to find a present for Sir Horace’s five hundredth birthday. They found what they want to give him, but a portcullis trapped them. This story took place in a cave and a haunted house. The eight characters in the house include ghosts and wizards. My favorite character is Edmund, who is a ghost. I like him because he is brave and helpful. Funny things happened like Uncle Drac falling out of his bedroom. I recommend this book because it is funny and gives many details. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this book an 8. ( )

I enjoyed this one as much as the first one. In The Sword in the Grotto, Araminta must figure out the perfect birthday present for Sir Horace's 500th Birthday (he's a ghost). This volume finds Uncle Drac in a bit of a pickle and our two intrepid adventurers shoveling bat poo and exploring deep, dark caves. It is a trip out to a mushroom farm that nets them an idea for the perfect gift for Sir Horace...but will this trip through the secret passage and into the secret grotto be their last? You simply must read The Sword in the Grotto and find out how Araminta and Wanda overcome the biggest of obstacles and find out if they get that sword for their favorite 500 year old ghost!

Overall, this is a quick easy read that would work well as a read aloud (for about ages 3-6) or an excellent chapter book for ages 6-9, older kids probably won't enjoy this simply because it's more of a campy type of creepy than spin-tingling type of creepy and the illustrations are a nice accompaniment to the story! Both of my kids will be happy to read the next book in the series when it comes out...and this one so clearly left the door open for yet another Addams family type of ghoulish fun fest! ( )

Sparkling with originality, the spooky and funny tales of Araminta and co. are full of delightful twists and surprises. Readers of adventure, magic and mystery will gobble these up.