For fans of Pseudonymous Bosch, Coraline, and Septimus Heap comes the first book in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Books of Elsewhere series. This house is keeping secrets . . . When eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy—but it isn’t until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot. Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house’s spooky paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. But in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been ensnared in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. With only the cats and an unusual boy she meets in Elsewhere on her side, it’s up to Olive to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good.
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"This book was good. Just enough creepy that it is good for K-5. Enough mystery and intrigue to make it interesting. I enjoyed Olive's character and the premise for the story. I doubt I will read further into the series though." — NancyJo (4 out of 5 stars)
"This book was good. Just enough creepy that it is good for K-5. Enough mystery and intrigue to make it interesting. I enjoyed Olive's character and the premise for the story. I doubt I will read further into the series though."
" This book makes me want to read under the covers with a flashlight! "
" Loved it, probably because my third graders just got SO into it with me. Maybe it's not that good of a book; hard to tell when a bunch of 8-year-olds are screaming, "PLEASE! One more chapter!!!" :) "
" This was just about perfect. Strange things happen in the old victorian house, as Olive Dunwoody discovers she can enter paintings in the house. Fun read, and I'm looking up the others in the series. "
" This was hard for me to get into at first. However, I was hooked for the last half of the book. I will read the second one at some point. The book trailer on Jacqueline West's website is great, and I will use that to introduce it to my students. "
" This is a very clever new mystery series. I enjoyed the suspense and creativity! "
" This is a nominee for the Great Stone Face Award. I would recommend it to my students 3-5 who like fantasy. I like the idea of going in and out of the paintings. The author included enough action to keep readers interested. "
" Very charming; I like that the "good" and "bad" characters are not clear from the beginning. Gives due respect to Narnia, which is nice to see. "
" This book really bothered me while I was reading it because it is very dark. The story was intriguing and will definitely keep the readers going but this was awfully serious and intense for kids. "
" An excellent children's book--exciting & imaginative! "
" Loved this book! What a great idea! Love the idea of being able to travel into a picture! "
" i like it but i don't think i what to read the whole series. some parts where funny and others where intense but i like "
" A fun and creepy book with the kind of main character I would have loved to read as a child! Loved it! "
" Unique and fun. "
" cute little kids book. "
" This book creeped me out in a big way. Very engaging, fun mystery, talking cats. Spooky house. "
" Semua orang ingin masuk merasakan gimana serunya masuk ke dalam lukisan, dan Jaqueline dapat menggambarkannya dengan sangat apik! "
" Looking forward to reading the sequel! "
" Good beginning to The Books of Elsewhere series with a strong female character. I can see 4-5th graders loving this, but it is scary! Good mixture of magic, talking cats, and humor! "
" 2011-12 Bluebonnet "
" It was a fun read. A bit predictable, but it is a children's book! In a way hat was nice though. The author didn't try to force her characters or story into path it didn't naturally want to follow. "
" Oh, those crazy pouncing cats! "
" This book is really interesting and is spooky. "
" Scary ;-) Yet another reason to hate basements! "
" A cool story of the magic of a pair of glasses and a girl with a lot of courage. "
" My students and I looked forward to reading this book daily. We loved the similes used throughout the entire book. "
" A good simple story for youth. Some of it is kind of open-ended and unexplained. "
" Cute book, I probably would have loved this series when I was a kid. "
" A fun story about Olive who moves into a house that has many secrets, including moving paintings and talking cats. "
" Fun read with just enough scariness and suspense for intermediate reader. "
" cute story; some scary parts grades 5 and up "
" This book was when I was curious about it. So, I borrowed it. It was pretty good. This book is good for 10 year olds and younger, and for special pleasures for the young at heart. ? "
Jacqueline West, a two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, is also the author of the kid- and critic-beloved middle-grade Books of Elsewhere series. Jacqueline lives amid the bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota, with her husband, son, and their dog, Brom Bones.
Lexy Fridell is a theater actress who has played as a variety of inanimate objects and animals, ranging from a sassy blue Chair in Pee-wee Herman on Broadway to a snuggly yellow bear in Avenue Q, to a Dog in Sylvia to Dory the short-term-memory-loss-suffering fish in Finding Nemo, the Musical. Beyond acting, she is an accomplished pupeteer and the narrator of numerous audio books.
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