The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Hahn, Mary Downing

Took

264 pp. | Clarion | September, 2015 | Trade ISBN 978-0-544-55153-4 $16.99

(2) 4-6 Daniel and little sister Erica find their dilapidated West Virginia home, the woods, and their new school unwelcoming and frightening. As kids tease them with scary tales, Erica becomes progressively stranger. The narrative alternates between Daniel's first-person perspective and a third-person-omniscient narrator who lets readers into the mind of witch "Old Auntie." This creepy tale skillfully weaves in--and honors--the oral tradition of folklore, legends, and ghost stories.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015