The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Book description
The American classic - now a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black and Kyle MacLachlan
Lewis Barnavelt doesn't have time on his side...
When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan, comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But…
Why read it?
4 authors picked The House with a Clock in Its Walls as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I was a scared kid. Reading spooky books like this masterpiece of middle grade horror let me experience fear in a safe, fun way.
When I saw the timid protagonist Lewis face his fears, it gave me the courage to face my own. Bellairs weaves a creepy mansion setting, zany yet lovable characters, creative magic, deft humor, genuine scares, and a mysteriously hidden clock ticking down to doomsday into a gorgeous tapestry.
From Matt's list on horror for kids (and kids at heart).
I first read this book because my grandmother lived around the corner from the author. The book is from 1973, but it resurged in popularity when a movie came out in 2018. Bellairs is great at creating characters who are utterly human and utterly odd. The book verges on the almost-too-scary when the main character, Lewis, opens a crypt and brings an evil witch back to life. Especially when the dead lady moves in across the street. Talk about shivers! Yikes. But it’s good. Very good.
From Heather's list on spooky (but not too spooky) ghost stories for kids.
Ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt, suddenly orphaned, is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan at 100 High Street in New Zebedee, Michigan. There he finds himself in a hilltop mansion both odd and fascinating: among his discoveries are ancient coins, a secret passage behind a bookcase, and the fact that Uncle Jonathan is a warlock. The only bad news is that the weird and wonderful house holds a potentially world-ending secret inside its walls. Simultaneously warm and scary, this is my favorite haunted-house story of all time.
From Keir's list on fantastic homes in middle-grade fiction.
This book, which came out in 1973, was John Bellairs’ first novel for young readers (it remains his most popular) and featured a dozen shadowy illustrations by eventual Goth favorite Edward Gorey. In it, Lewis Barnavelt arrives at his uncle’s creepy-intriguing house and embarks on the sorts of adventures I think many kids wish for themselves: encounters with magic and the people who can work it; discoveries of clues and puzzles and mysterious books; evasions of danger; and the company of gentle grown-ups one leap beyond their parents. This book completely fired my imagination when my fifth-grade teacher read it…
From Ben's list on kids suddenly caught up in mysterious circumstances.
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