Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Children will appreciate this humorous ghost story; it makes a good read-aloud choice."
Review
"Murphy turns his honed nonfiction hand to spinning folklore...just the right jaunty exaggeration and haunting humor."
Review
"Murphy's tale is pleasingly full of blarney, and Manders' comic illustrations offset the meance of the night-demon."
Review
"An original tale in which a...lad from the Emerald Isle uses wit...to wiggle out of a spooky scrape."
Review
"Murphy turns his honed nonfiction hand to spinning folklore...just the right jaunty exaggeration and haunting humor." Kirkus Reviews
"Murphy's tale is pleasingly full of blarney, and Manders' comic illustrations offset the meance of the night-demon." Booklist, ALA
"Children will appreciate this humorous ghost story; it makes a good read-aloud choice." School Library Journal
"An original tale in which a...lad from the Emerald Isle uses wit...to wiggle out of a spooky scrape." Publishers Weekly
"The tale's a lively one, with clever Fergus repeatedly besting the monster, and it's a good choice for reading aloud." Horn Book Guide
Synopsis
Acclaimed nonfiction author Jim Murphy now turns his hand to spinning yarns. Fergus Oand#8217;Mara, a resourceful Irish lad, is especially clever at avoiding work. On his way to an evening of fun, he encounters the dreaded Night-Demon. Fergus keeps on walking, but this demon means business, and our hero will have to work hard to get himself out of a and#147;graveand#8221; situation.
With haunting humor and high spirits, Jim Murphy and John Manders have created a suspenseful tale thatand#8217;s scary enough for a Halloween read-aloud and funny enough to be enjoyed at any time. Authorand#8217;s note.
Synopsis
On his way to town to have some fun, a lazy but clever young man faces a terrible demon, who declares that his time has come.
About the Author
John Manders has illustrated more than a dozen books for children, including, most recently, DIRT BOY by Erik Jon Slangerup. He also teaches illustration and graphic design history at Pittsburgh Technical Institute. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his pet parrot and hound.Jim was born in Newark, New Jersey, and earned a B.A. in English from Rutgers University. Over the years he has had such offbeat jobs as boiler repairperson, chainlink fence installer, roofer, and apartment cleaner, and has worked in a plastics factory, sold books, and been a "tin-knocker" on New York City skyscrapers, working thirty or so stories up on open steel. From 1970 -1977 he was the managing editor for Clarion Books. Murphy has more than twenty-five books to his credit. He is a two-time winner of both the SCBWI Golden Kite Award and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, and received a Newbery Honor for his book The Great Fire (Scholastic). He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his family.