Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise

One of the books that has gotten some tread in my classroom is Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise. I picked it up over the summer because it was a 2012 Sasquatch Awards nominee. It is a bit different than you're typical children's book in that it is written in the form of letters between the various characters as they talk about events that happen. It also has some illustrations that fit well with the story and the writing.

The setup is as follows: Ignatius Grumply is a children's author with writer's block. He needs a summer home to set up shop and get his writing done. Enter Anita Sale (yes, "aNEEDa Sale"!). She tries to dissuade him from 43 Old Cemetery Rd, but to no avail. Once there he finds a boy, his cat, and a ghost. He doesn't know about the ghost Olivia C Spence, but eventually comes to gather that she lives... what follows is a fast read that works for good and struggling readers alike. The nuance in the names and actions will get laughs out of the more experienced readers. But it reads easy enough for those who won't necessarily get the nuance.

Rating: 3 out of 5. Good read, not great. Has its place in the intermediate classroom library.