The Graves Family

When the unconventional Graves family - complete with mad-scientist father and Venus flytrap-loving mother - move into the creaky old house on Park Street, painting it blood-red, their new neighbors in Union City want nothing to do with them. All except for Seth and Sara Miller, that is, who live across the street, and befriend the eldest Graves child, Hieronymus (whom they nickname Ronnie). The children's well-meaning ideas to help the Graves fit in - finagling an invitation to the Ladies Garden Club Tea for Mrs. Graves, convincing Dr. Graves to share his remarkable hair-growing formula with the many bald men in town - all backfire, much to the young Millers' dismay. Then a home-decorating guru, with a popular television show, visits show more Union City, and something most unexpected occurs...

I've been meaning to read more of the prolific Patricia Polacco, and standing in front of "her" shelf at the public library this past weekend, struggling to decide which one to choose next, I happened to recall The Graves Family, which, whilst not explicitly Halloween themed, does contain some elements - the spooky house, the bats and spiders - that make it a good selection for this time of year. An engaging story, paired with Polacco's appealingly expressive illustrations - I particularly liked the scenes in which Seth and Sara stare around them, aghast! - made this an enjoyable read, although I can't say it touched my heart-strings as so many of the other author's books have done. Still, I liked it enough that I will be seeking out the sequel, The Graves Family Goes Camping! show less

"The Graves Family" introduces readers to a unique and eccentric family who loves everything spooky and supernatural. The Graves family lives in a peculiar house filled with bats, spiders, and even a pet alligator. They celebrate Halloween every day, delighting in frights and scares. The book's themes of embracing differences and finding common ground can spark discussions about diversity, inclusion, and the importance of respecting others' unique identities and interests. This book would be best suited for 2nd-4th graders to start learning about inclusivity.

Art Media: Pencil, watercolor.
This book is a good example of a fantasy because although the scenario is realistic (having new neighbors that may be a little different or odd) all of the elements that were in the Graves house are highly unlikely such as the giant spiders who act as house pets and the venus flytrap that has baby plants which the family keeps as pets. The scenario is made believable but it would never really happen.
Plot: The plot of this story is really good because you start out with this conflict and the drama continues to add up about this new family in town and the more things we learn about this family it makes them seem spooky and then everything is worked out in the end. It has a great lead up to the climax and then show more everyone is happy at the end. show less

Is it possible to make friends with the queer family that lives in a haunted house? Sara and Seth do their best, but everytime they do something with the Graves family, it turns out to be a disaster! Will they have enough good ideas to help the Graves family fit in with all their bizarre ways? The pictures are delightful, and the story amusing.

Grade Level: 6
This is a very good story, it had a few hard words that I believe most children would have a time reading. This story would be great to read around Halloween because it deals with a "haunted house". This is great to for students to get involved with seeing how children interact and not to judge people by their house. This story deals with a new family who moves house to house because they never fit in, but they move to a new city where the neighbors across the street to ask the little boy to play. They became best friends and he finally ask him to come inside his house. Seth and Sara find his house strange. In the end, they win the best house and end up fitting in the new city. show more target="_top">http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/halloween/ has great lesson plans for activities you can do around the Halloween season. show less

This was a good book about a new family in town. They were very different from everyone else, but that's what made them so special. The book shows how they try to fit in but can't. Finally a designer comes to town and recognizes and embraces the Graves uniqueness and they are accepted by the town.

The book is about a family who strangely move into a scary looking house. However, the family are extremely nice, but do not fit in with everyone. They have spiders and plants with mouths in the house. Their neighbors try to help them fit in with the rest of the town. It is a funny book about acceptance and fitting in with everyone.