The House With a Clock in Its Walls

one day when i was about 8 or 9, living in some chilly state, i bundled myself up until i looked like a little gray egg, hood over head, the hood's furry fringe making my face a cameo portrait of a round genderless blob, and proceded to wait for my ride in the lobby of my apartment building. a young......more

It has become harder and harder, I think, to find books for kids that are appropriately spooky without being gross out bloody or simply horribly dark. John Bellairs walks that difficult line. The adventure is scary, and the danger is real, as is the magic. A huge plus is the boy's relationship with U......more

I read this book as a child. I wanted to read it again before the movie came out this month. I have to admit that most of the book faded from my memory till not much was left. It was interesting, as I read this it was like little puffs of smoke which were memories went off in my head and I would thi......more

An outrageous fact: the more magical and creative a book, the more authors gear it to children. If in doubt that there is a grown-up market, let me set it straight! John Bellairs wrote “The House With A Clock In Its Walls” in 1973. I wish I had known of it after I was a child! I would have been even......more

This book scared the tar out of me when I was ten. I could barely fall asleep at night but I loved it. I used it as a read aloud to my fourth graders and they would BEG each day to hear more. Occasionally I would look up from my reading to see 20 horrified faces with their eyes wide open in anticipa......more