Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales
by Brian Jacques
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A collection of seven creepy stories.Tags
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My seven year old daughter insisted I read this. She seems intent, after starting with Redwall, of reading everything the author has written. Jacques is a good writer (other than the simplistic poems that introduce each tale, which are in stark contrast with the general sophistication of his style) and a couple of these stories are indeed pretty ghastly and may be beyond the understanding of younger readers: A girl thief learns the consequences of stealing a treasure from a WW II survivor ("Allie Alma"); and a little girl lives with her despicable uncle, some nice ducks, and a strange presence beneath the lake ("Bridgey"). A couple are mostly silly and humorous, such as one about a boy who lies constantly selling his soul to the devil show more ("The Lies of Henry Mawdsley"). The next-to-last story in the book, "The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin" is the most satisfying to me as it seems to achieve exactly what it sets out to do and is quite touching in the bargain. Most of the other stories, while enjoyable, still feel like Jacques is holding back, knowing that he is writing for a younger audience. While he certainly doesn't hesitate to use some unusual words and have characters speak in dialect, the doesn't always plumb the depths of the horror he could have found in some of these stories. show less
Seven Strange & Ghostly Tales is a children's book. The tales are as follows:
'The Fate of Thomas P. Kanne': a museum caretaker attendant is determined to put a stop to a prolific graffiti artist.
'Jamie and the Vampires': Jamie's gang dare him to sit in front of what they claim is a vampire's tomb. For my edition, this is the cover story, although the boy on the cover looks a bit cleaner than Jamie is described inside.
'Allie Alma': when she's being 'Alma', young Ms. Budleigh is a very good girl, but when she's being 'Allie,' watch out!
'The Lies of Henry Mawdsley': Henry would rather lie than tell the truth, then he meets the Father of Lies.
'Bridgey': little Bridgey has been living with her abusive alcoholic uncle since her parents died. show more He thinks the ducks are her only company besides himself.
'The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin': Poor Gilly wants so much to taste a sweetmeat (candy). How long must he wait?
'R. S. B. Limited': the three bullies are demanding money and Jonathan can't pay -- what will they do to him?
Each story has a poem on the page before it starts. I think the one that's a riddle is the best. The stories are better than the poems. Three of the seven are comic encounters with the supernatural. The other four fall into the 'cautionary tales' category -- think Der Struwelpeter (or Shockheaded Peter). Do not imitate those jerks or their awful fates might be yours!
The author is British. I suspect some effort has been made to Americanize the stories in this Avon reprint because of the use of American spellings instead of British. In the last story the money is still described as 'pounds' instead of dollars, but I think the bullies may have been originally described as sixth formers (usually 16 to 18 years old) rather than sixth-graders (usually 12 years old).
Good for kids who like ghost stories and not bad for adults who still enjoy children's books. show less
'The Fate of Thomas P. Kanne': a museum caretaker attendant is determined to put a stop to a prolific graffiti artist.
'Jamie and the Vampires': Jamie's gang dare him to sit in front of what they claim is a vampire's tomb. For my edition, this is the cover story, although the boy on the cover looks a bit cleaner than Jamie is described inside.
'Allie Alma': when she's being 'Alma', young Ms. Budleigh is a very good girl, but when she's being 'Allie,' watch out!
'The Lies of Henry Mawdsley': Henry would rather lie than tell the truth, then he meets the Father of Lies.
'Bridgey': little Bridgey has been living with her abusive alcoholic uncle since her parents died. show more He thinks the ducks are her only company besides himself.
'The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin': Poor Gilly wants so much to taste a sweetmeat (candy). How long must he wait?
'R. S. B. Limited': the three bullies are demanding money and Jonathan can't pay -- what will they do to him?
Each story has a poem on the page before it starts. I think the one that's a riddle is the best. The stories are better than the poems. Three of the seven are comic encounters with the supernatural. The other four fall into the 'cautionary tales' category -- think Der Struwelpeter (or Shockheaded Peter). Do not imitate those jerks or their awful fates might be yours!
The author is British. I suspect some effort has been made to Americanize the stories in this Avon reprint because of the use of American spellings instead of British. In the last story the money is still described as 'pounds' instead of dollars, but I think the bullies may have been originally described as sixth formers (usually 16 to 18 years old) rather than sixth-graders (usually 12 years old).
Good for kids who like ghost stories and not bad for adults who still enjoy children's books. show less
As the title suggests, this is a collection of seven short stories, each with an element of spookiness or of the otherworldly sort. Many of the tales offer moral underpinnings; don't lie, don't steal, don't ruin things with graffiti. Perhaps my favorite story of the bunch involves a young man who believes he can outsmart everyone by leaving his graffitied name-- an anagram of his real name-- anywhere he wishes, including on ancient artifacts in the town's museum. This collection is appropriate for upper elementary through junior high, although with a more targeted cover the book would conceivably hold the interest of some high schoolers.
Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.
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Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England on June 15, 1939. After he finished St. John's School at the age of fifteen, he became a merchant seaman and travelled to numerous ports including New York, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Yokohama. Tiring of the lonely life of a sailor, he returned to Liverpool where he worked as a railway fireman, a show more longshoreman, a long-distance truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, a police constable, a postmaster, and a stand-up comic. During the sixties, he was a member of the folk singing group The Liverpool Fishermen. He wrote both poetry and music, but he began his writing career in earnest as a playwright. His three stage plays Brown Bitter, Wet Nellies, and Scouse have been performed at the Everyman Theatre. He wrote Redwall for the children at the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind in Liverpool, where he delivered milk as a truck driver. His style of writing is very descriptive, because of the nature of his first audience, for whom he painted pictures with words, so that they could see them in their imaginations. After Alan Durband, his childhood English teacher, read Redwall, he showed it to a publisher without telling Jacques. This event led to a contract for the first five books in the Redwall series. He also wrote the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He died on February 5, 2011. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales
- Original title
- Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales
- Original publication date
- 1988
- People/Characters
- Mr. Bausin; Thomas P. Kanne; Jamie; Monaghan; Kelly Ann; Little Cliffie (show all 49); Paula; Gary; Vladimir; Henry Mawdsley; Mrs. Benson; Nick Lucifer; Mr. Taylor; Mrs. Mawdsley; the Vicar; Walter Furlong; Duprez; the Archangel Gabriel; Bridgey; Mister Rafferty; Sully McConville; Grimblett; Matilda; Gilly Bodkin; Giles Bodkin; Squire Rupert Manfield; Lady Manfield; Agnes Manfield; Lucy Manfield; Jessie Manfield; Bessy; Effie Bodkin; Priscilla Long; Jane; Mary; Wayne Manfield Lee; Tammy Manfield Lee; Connie Manfield Lee; Agnes Manfield Lee; Jonathan Coleman; Jonathan's Uncle Fred; Jonathan's Aunt Helen; Mrs. Van Horn; Miss Charlotte Bingham; Mr. Geoffrey Robbins; Mr. Malcom Smith; Kate Carroll; Police Superintendent Atherton; Doctor Pradesh
- Important places
- Middlechester Museum {'The Fate of Thomas P. Kanne'}; 14D Ferryview Towers (apartment, 'Allie Alma'); Saint Michael's school {'R. S. B. Limited'}
- First words
- It was a quiet, grey Tuesday toward the end of the Christmas holidays. ['The Fate of Thomas P. Kanne']
'Jaymeeeee!' ['Jamie and the Vampires']
Alma Budleigh detested her name. ['Allie Alma']
They said Henry Mawdsley was an inveterate liar; sometimes they said he was an habitual liar, more often than not they said he was a born liar. ['The Lies of Henry Mawdsley']
'Sure, and aren't ducks the greatest things in all the world!' ['Bridgey']
Life had never been much fun for Gilly Bodkin. ['The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin'] (show all 7)
There were three of them lounging at the school gates, two boys and a girl. ['R. S. B. Limited'] - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)BAUSIN IS ANUBIS!
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Well, when he's not laughing all he says is, 'Just like my mother, just like my mother!' ['Jamie and the Vampires']
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I get mixed up, you know, Helga, Elma, all so long ago... ['Allie Alma']
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'Well, I knew Henry Mawdsley would like to the very Devil himself, but fancy fooling Mrs. Benson and me!' (said by the Archangel Gabriel) ['The Lies of Henry Mawdsley']
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Sure, it'll help you to get rid of the nasty taste, so it will. ['Bridgey']
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The car purred off the gravel onto smooth tarmac, leaving the deserted path lying peacefully in its wake. ['The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin']
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)They were both gazing out the window at the smiling boy who was waving goodbye to them from the wreckage of the sports hut. ['R. S. B. Limited'] - Original language*
- Engels
- Disambiguation notice
- Contains:
• The Fate of Thomas P. Kanne
• James and the Vampires
• Allie Alma
• The Lies of Henry Mawdsley
• Bridgey
• The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin
• R.S.B. Limited
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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