Overview
The ghosts of Britain need a sanctuary. Castles with central heating, bogs drained for motorways, dismal forests cleared for car parks-there are few places left for a respectable ghost to haunt. Humphrey the Horrible (actually his name is simply Humphrey-he added "the Horrible" to help himself become horrible) is a small, mostly unsuccessful ghost in a family of ghastly ghouls. His mother worries. But Humphrey has enough pluck to befriend a smart, politically aware schoolboy, Rick Henderson, who is willing to take the ghosts' cause right to the top, to number 10 Downing Street-home of the Prime Minister.
A young English boy decides to establish a sanctuary for an assortment of ghosts when the homes they have haunted are replaced by highways and other modern "improvements."
Synopsis
The ghosts of Britain need a sanctuary. Castles with central heating, bogs drained for motorways, dismal forests cleared for car parks -- there are few places left for a respectable ghost to haunt. Humphrey the Horrible is a small, mostly unsuccessful ghost in a family of ghastly ghouls. His mother worries. But Humphrey has enough pluck to befriend a smart, politically aware schoolboy, Rick Henderson, who is willing to take the ghosts' cause right to the top, to number 10 Downing Street -- home of the Prime Minister.
Publishers Weekly
"Fans of Dial-A-Ghost will eagerly welcome this new flock of floating phantoms," according to PW. "The ghost's housing shortage continues, and human hero Rick wants the British government to do something about it." Ages 8-up. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Eva Ibbotson unleashes a host of displaced ghosts in this spookily spirited book that'll keep you laughing! When construction workers begin remodeling dismal Craggyford Castle to build a holiday camp, the family of ghosts residing there -- including a father named the Gilding Kilt, a Hag for a mother, screaming George, Wailing Winifred, and gentle Humphrey the Horrible -- decide they must find new digs. Stumbling into a school dormitory, they meet Rick, a student who learns the only real help for them is Britain's prime minister himself. After a number of other ghosts join their cause, along with a couple of hauntings to make a few nonbelievers in ghosts shiver in their shoes, Rick and the ghost family finally wind up at 10 Downing Street, where they are awarded a marvelously "hulking black ruin" named Insleyfarne Castle. But have the ghosts really found their dream home, or is it a political plot to get rid of them? Loaded with lighthearted adventure that's ghastly exciting, The Great Ghost Rescue is another imaginative treat from the author of Which Witch? and The Secret of Platform 13.Publishers Weekly
"Fans of Dial-A-Ghost will eagerly welcome this new flock of floating phantoms," according to PW. "The ghost's housing shortage continues, and human hero Rick wants the British government to do something about it." Ages 8-up. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Eva Ibbotson does fantasy with a lovely, droll touch. It's a welcome British talent, and fans of her The Secret of Platform 13 will be delighted by the import of this earlier work. It's a tall(but ecologically significant(tale of the woes of Humphrey the Horrible and his extended ghost family as they lose their ancestral haunting castle to suburban sprawl. In search of a new home, they descend en masse on a dormitory of the Norton Castle School. Enter Rick, a very alive young man with compassion and a social conscience. He takes on the ghosts' cause with enthusiasm, and is soon visiting the Prime Minister in London to beg for a sanctuary for Britain's ghosts and ghouls and vampire bats. That's just the beginning of the adventure. Mad businessmen and exorcists and a lonely and perfect Scottish castle are soon added to the mix. Ibbotson has the most fun with her descriptions, though. Ecotoplasms never seemed so real; hags never smelled more exotic(and who'd have thought one could fall in love with a baby vampire bat named Rose? It's a good read all around. 2002 (orig. 1975), Dutton,— Kathleen Karr