CHILDREN'S EBOOK OF THE YEAR 2012 FINALIST!

A community service project leads Philip and Emery straight to a haunted house. Disappearing lunches and windows that mysteriously open and close on their own don't deter the two boys from going inside the house to look for stolen money they think robbers may have left behind. When they bravely go down into the dark basement of the house, they are flabbergasted by what they find!

“You ready? Here I go,” Philip whispered. He took his hand off the doorknob and wiped his palm. “Shall I throw it open fast or open it really slow?”    

Emery thought a moment. “Fast,” he whispered. “If anything is there, it’ll be surprised and make a noise, and we’ll hear it and run. And yell. If you open it slow, it won’t hear us and we’ll walk right into it.”    

“Don’t say ‘it.’”    

“Whatever will hear us then.”    

“Don’t say whatever.”    

“Some nice polite robber will be waiting for us. How’s that? Better?”    

Philip rolled his eyes and reached out for the doorknob again. He looked at Emery. “Ready?” he whispered in his quietest voice yet.    

“I’m ready. I’m ready.”    

Without speaking, Philip mouthed the numbers, “One, two...” He swallowed, took a deep breath, and yanked open the door.    

Both boys screamed. Something awful did wait on the other side of the door!