The Best of John Bellairs: The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
by John Bellairs
Lewis Barnavelt (Collections and Selections — 1-3)
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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 know that Uncle Johnathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman are witches. Lewis finds that he himself owns magical powers, and soon is thrust in a supernatural battle between good and evil. show more The second tale focuses on Grampa Barnavelt's old coin. Lewis thinks the coin is an amulet, but when he starts to wear it around his neck, bizarre things start to happen - and not all of them good. The last tale shifts the focus to thirteen-year-old Rose Rita, who is embittered because she cannot go to camp like Lewis. so Mrs. Zimmerman offers Rita an adventure of her own. But when a magical ring disappears, Rita gets more of an adventure than she bargained for. John Bellair's vivid characterization and and excruciatingly suspenseful plots make this series a thrilling ride! show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I remember walking to the library so many times in my childhood and always being captivated by the Dell Yearling cover to The House With A Clock In Its Walls -- a ghastly superimposed face over a Gothic-looking mansion. I must have read that book over three dozen times. And yet, so many years later, I couldn't remember a thing about it, other than the spooky cover. And I wasn't sure if I had read any of the sequels. So I bought this omnibus, which contains three stories.
* The House With A Clock In Its Walls stars a young boy who feels very alone in a brand-new town, and where everything is mysterious, although his uncle rates pretty high on the peculiar scale. Along the way, there's a bit of witchcraft, and then the climax of the story show more hinges on the reader's knowledge of a pretty esoteric occult item. I must have been captivated by the world of things-I-didn't-ever-know-about, but I'm a bit startled that it made no long-term impression upon me.
* The Figure In The Shadows is another creepy tale, this time with a sidekick. Sadly, our main character has taken a turn for the worse: instead of being just a bumbling youth, he's now a whiny, crying brat. The adults seem to be mostly clueless during the story; I can't really tell if that's what kids always think their parents are, or if that is really how life works. The whiny character makes a lot of stupid decisions which almost leads to his downfall.
* The Letter, The Witch, and The Ring eliminates the whiny character (he goes to camp) and now the not-girlfriend takes a starring role. Interestingly, she hops in the car with an older adult (a non-relative) for several weeks of camping, because, well, that just moves the story along. Like in the second book, a lot of bad decisions are made -- let's break into this place because I have a hunch -- but being a children's book, all works out in the end.
What struck me most about these books is that the villains are truly evil, without any redeeming characteristics. The books still have charm, but there are some awkward spots -- I found the long listings of the flowers in the garden, or descriptions of the furniture in a room a bit distracting.
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LT Haiku:
Sinister stories
that make the reader want to
sleep with the lights on. show less
* The House With A Clock In Its Walls stars a young boy who feels very alone in a brand-new town, and where everything is mysterious, although his uncle rates pretty high on the peculiar scale. Along the way, there's a bit of witchcraft, and then the climax of the story show more hinges on the reader's knowledge of a pretty esoteric occult item. I must have been captivated by the world of things-I-didn't-ever-know-about, but I'm a bit startled that it made no long-term impression upon me.
* The Figure In The Shadows is another creepy tale, this time with a sidekick. Sadly, our main character has taken a turn for the worse: instead of being just a bumbling youth, he's now a whiny, crying brat. The adults seem to be mostly clueless during the story; I can't really tell if that's what kids always think their parents are, or if that is really how life works. The whiny character makes a lot of stupid decisions which almost leads to his downfall.
* The Letter, The Witch, and The Ring eliminates the whiny character (he goes to camp) and now the not-girlfriend takes a starring role. Interestingly, she hops in the car with an older adult (a non-relative) for several weeks of camping, because, well, that just moves the story along. Like in the second book, a lot of bad decisions are made -- let's break into this place because I have a hunch -- but being a children's book, all works out in the end.
What struck me most about these books is that the villains are truly evil, without any redeeming characteristics. The books still have charm, but there are some awkward spots -- I found the long listings of the flowers in the garden, or descriptions of the furniture in a room a bit distracting.
---------------------
LT Haiku:
Sinister stories
that make the reader want to
sleep with the lights on. show less
I was absolutely obsessed with everything by John Bellairs when I was in the 10-11 year old age range. Being that the movie “A House With a Clock in its Walls” is supposed to release soon, I thought I would go back and give this childhood favorite a re-read. Honestly this was a bit disappointing; this story and book just didn’t hold up very well over time fo rme. This is one of those childhood favorites I kind of wish I hadn’t gone back and re-read.
I was a bit disappointed on how much of the story focuses on Lewis and him struggling to keep his “friend” interested in him. There is lots of talk about baseball (which I had forgotten about) and a lot of discussion of history which was okay. In the end though the majority of show more this story is fairly...well...boring.
I did still enjoy the mystery behind the ticking in the old house Lewis moves in to. I was also impressed by the magic in this book and how dark and mysterious it is. I think if you took out all the weird catering of Lewis to a boy who obviously didn’t like him and all the strange baseball references; this could make a pretty good movie.
Overall this is one I wish I hadn't re-read. My childhood memories of it were much better than the actual book itself. I wouldn’t really recommend to modern middle grade aged readers. A lot of references and topics in here are fairly dated and the story wasn’t all that exciting. show less
I was a bit disappointed on how much of the story focuses on Lewis and him struggling to keep his “friend” interested in him. There is lots of talk about baseball (which I had forgotten about) and a lot of discussion of history which was okay. In the end though the majority of show more this story is fairly...well...boring.
I did still enjoy the mystery behind the ticking in the old house Lewis moves in to. I was also impressed by the magic in this book and how dark and mysterious it is. I think if you took out all the weird catering of Lewis to a boy who obviously didn’t like him and all the strange baseball references; this could make a pretty good movie.
Overall this is one I wish I hadn't re-read. My childhood memories of it were much better than the actual book itself. I wouldn’t really recommend to modern middle grade aged readers. A lot of references and topics in here are fairly dated and the story wasn’t all that exciting. show less
Personally I prefer the character of Rose Rita over that of Lewis, so I'm not that crazy about the trilogy until Rose Rita appears in the second book (though she's referred to briefly at the end of The House with a Clock in Its Walls). And my own favorite in fact is the second book, The Figure in the Shadows, where Rose Rita is a bit stronger in her bossiness than in the third (though she does do some bossing in both books). And of the three illustrators, my own preference is for Mercer Mayer (The Figure in the Shadows), who gives Rose Rita a charmingly rumpled appearance that's missing from Richard Egielski's The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring.
Over all, an enjoyable enough trilogy which should appeal to younger readers, although it's show more not terribly original, for example, in the temptation to use a powerful ring. show less
Over all, an enjoyable enough trilogy which should appeal to younger readers, although it's show more not terribly original, for example, in the temptation to use a powerful ring. show less
Only read the House with a Clock in its Walls -- Definitely a story for the really young adult crowd. I listened to it for Halloween because I've heard so much about it. Not that I have such sophisticated reading tastes, but this definitely was just an okay story. I think I would have enjoyed it as a kid though.
I loved these books as a kid. Better than Goosebumps. Still enjoyable as an adult. A bit dated, but not too bad.
For devotees of the genere, here's the genuine article, a ghost story guaranteed to raise hackles.
Sep 24, 2021Spanish
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37+ Works 12,606 Members
John Bellairs was born in Marshall, Michigan on January 17, 1938. He attended Notre Dame and the University of Chicago. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. He went on to author fifteen graphic novels for young adults, one fantasy book "The Face in the Frost," and two other books. His works have been nominated for several awards show more in the past. Among those nominated for, he won the Utah Children's Fiction Book Award in 1981 for "The Letter, the Witch and the Ring" and the New York Times Outstanding Books of 1973 Award for "The House with a Clock in Its Walls." Bellairs died of cardiovascular disease, on March 8, 1991. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1998
- People/Characters
- Lewis Barnavelt; Jonathan Barnavelt; Florence Zimmermann; Isaac Izard; Selenna Izard; Hammerhandle (show all 8); Tarby Corrigan; Rose Rita Pottinger
- Important places
- 100 High Street, New Zebedee, Michigan, USA
- First words
- Lewis Barnavelt fidgeted and wiped his sweaty palms on the seat of the bus that was roaring toward New Zebedee. (The house with a clock in its walls)
Lewis Barnavelt stood at the edge of the playground, watching the big boys fight. (The figure in the shadows)
"No, no, no, NO!" (The letter, the witch, and the ring) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then they got up, stretched, and went wearily off to bed. (The house with a clock in its walls)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It was the Charles Atlas booklet. (The figure in the shadows)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)After a while, the two of them got up, kicked some sand over the fire, and went to bed. (The letter, the witch, and the ring) - Disambiguation notice
- Do not combine The Best of John Bellairs (0760711429 - Lewis Barnavelt - The House with a Clock in Its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring)withThe Best of John Bellairs 2 (0760775907 - Joh... (show all)nny Dixon - The Curse of the Blue Figurine; The Mummy, the Will, & the Crypt; The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull)
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