The house of dies drear review

M.c. higgins the great genre
A family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad in this Edgar Award-winning book from Virginia.
A family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad in this Edgar Award–winning book from Virginia.

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“A hundred years ago, Dies Drear and two slaves he was hiding in his house, an Underground Railroad station in Ohio, had been murdered. The house, huge and isolated, was fascinating, Thomas thought. but he wasn’t sure he was glad Papa had bought it – funny things kept happening; frightening things. The secret of the house is revealed in an exciting final sequence that maintains beautifully the mysterious and dramatic story of a black family caught in an atmosphere of fear and danger. Written with distinction, an imaginative and imposing book.”
– Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A spellbinding mystery with edge-of-the-seat suspense.”
– New York Times Book Review

Awards:
– An American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book
– Edgar Alan Poe Award (Mystery Writers of America “Edgar”)
– “Best of the Best Books,” School Library Journal

Published by The Trumpet Book Club
Cover illustration by Eros Keith

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Kids Book Blog

About the Author

Hi everyone! My name is Erin, and I’m reading the book The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton. Virginia Hamilton was born on March 12th, 1936 and grew up on a farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her grandfather had been a slave in Virginia before he escaped to Yellow Springs and he would always tell stories about slavery. I bet that’s what inspired her to write some of her stories, like this one. As you probably can tell, she loved to write. In college, she majored in literature. She first attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, then transferred to Ohio State University. While attending the New School for Social Research, she met a poet named Arnold Adoff and they later got married and moved back to Yellow Springs with their two children. Virginia Hamilton died on February 19, 2002 at the age of 65.

Tasks:
1. Respond- By looking at the front and back of this book, what do you think it’s going to be about?
2. Read- Section 1 (pg. 1-60)

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The House of Dies Drear,by Virginia Hamilton
The Mystery of Drear House

When I was about 10, I checked The House of Dies Drearout of the library and read it, but I did not understand a whole lot of it. I remember it was kind of spooky and massively confusing. When Leila (formerly of Bookshelves of Doom) mentioned it at her new blog, The Backlist,a couple of weeks ago, I went back and read it again, along with the sequel. It makes a lot more sense now!

Thomas' family is moving from the mountains of North Carolina to a small college town in Ohio, where Mr. Small will teach history. He is delighted to find an old mansion on the edge of town that belonged to an eccentric and wealthy man who was a major force in the Underground Railroad. The house is full of secret cupboards and cave tunnels under the house, and there are rumors of ghosts. Thomas is both nervous and thrilled with the house, and determined to figure out all the mysteries. Pluto, the caretaker, has a long feud with the treasure-seeking Darrow family, and things get scary