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Booktalking Colorado Full Record:
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Title: |
The Old Willis Place |
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Author: |
Hahn, Mary Downing |
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Date Published: |
2004 |
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Genre: |
Supernatural |
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Grade Level: |
5 - 8 |
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Booktalker: |
Marilyn Bunker |
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Booktalk:
The new caretaker arrived at the Old Willis Place, Georgie and I were watching, just as we had for every other caretaker since Mrs. Willis had died. Of course we were hiding, so they couldn’t see us. None of the caretakers ever lasted very long. But this time was different. This caretaker wasn’t lazy, or a drunk, or useless. No, this one was young, sharp and energetic . . . and, he had a daughter who looked about the same age as me. Georgie and I were curious. But, as always we had to be very careful. We couldn’t be seen, we couldn’t make friends, we couldn’t go into the parlor of the house (in fact we avoided the house whenever possible, since there was that nasty ghost of Mrs. Lillian Willis to worry about) and we couldn’t leave the grounds. The first night, we borrowed the girl’s bike and Georgie wrecked it and we threw it in the creek behind a clump of pokeberries. Then another night Georgie slipped into the girl’s room and ‘borrowed’ her teddy bear. It reminded him of Alfie and the bear that Mrs. Willis stole. But, somehow the girl, Lissa, knew we were there watching her. Somehow she knew that we had taken her bike and bear. She didn’t know who or what we were, but she talked to us as if she knew we were listening. She seemed nice enough, and I was so desperate for a friend. So, I broke one of the rules and introduced myself to Lissa. But, I had to be careful of how much I told Lisa, and I sure couldn’t discuss the ‘bad’ thing that had happened to Georgie and me. I just couldn’t tell her all of the rules we had to follow. I was trying to figure all of this out and I noticed that Lissa was afraid of me. What was wrong with her? Wasn’t I a girl like herself? Why should she be so scared? She even sicced her dog on me. I turned and ran into the woods, crying as I hadn’t cried in years.
What scared Lissa so much? What secret are Diana and her brother Georgie hiding? THe Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
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