Over My Dead Body

Written by: Kate Klise
Illustrated by: Sarah Klise

The news from Ghastly, Illinois, is GRAVE, indeed.
The International Movement for the Safety & Protection Of Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY) dictates that eleven-year-old Seymour Hope cannot live in Spence Mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road “without the benefit of parents.” Best-selling author Ignatius B. Grumply tries to explain to Dick Tater, the head of IMSPOOKY, that he and Seymour are in a perfectly happy and safe living (and publishing!) arrangement with the ghost of Olive C. Spence. But Dick Tater is not convinced. He commits Grumply to an insane asylum, sends Seymour to an orphanage, and announces plans to exhume Olive’s body.
Luckily, this clever trio can’t be broken up as easily as Dick Tater imagines. And the Halloween surprise they have in store will leave them in hysterics.

Summary is from the jacket flap and is provided by Harcourt Children’s Books.

Normally, I would write about the first book in a series, but I wanted to write about this one because I can’t believe how well Kate Klise carried off a sequel to a hilarious first book! The first book, Dying To Meet You, is a laugh out loud riot, not to mention told completely through letters between the characters and newspaper articles. I wondered how she would be able to carry off the same story type, but she was definitely able to keep true to form and write a wonderful sequel. There are many more in the series and I can’t wait to read them!

Discussion/Project Ideas:

1. The most obvious thing here is to write letters. They can be to classmates, family, or friends, but they should be clear, to the point, and maybe even entertaining!

2. While reading the book (for the days it takes you, maybe as a class to read it), take notes on interesting things that happen in your life. When you finish reading, use one of the newspapers in the book as an example and write your own newspaper article. As a class, you could even combine them to make a whole newspaper!

3. Dick Tater was a humorous antagonist, but there are a lot of people out there who don’t celebrate Halloween for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are similar to the ones in the book. Do you believe a person (or the government – federal, state, or local) has the right to ban Halloween? Why or why not? Give details!

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