Throwback Thursday: The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla

I bought The Ghost of Windy Hill last Friday and only picked it up because I recognized the artwork. I had never heard of the author, Clyde Robert Bulla before. This book is illustrated by Don Bolognese. Yes, the same Don Bolognese who illustrated one of my all time favorite books from when I was a kid, The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden by Mary Chase.

I've been known to buy books based only on the pictures. I can't draw, but I appreciate those who are artistic and good at it.

This little book, published in 1968 by Scholastic, is a good for the seven to ten age group. It is a mystery, but it isn't too scary. It has interesting characters who grow during the course of the short story. It is eighty-four pages of larger font with interesting pictures on several of the pages.

The book is set in the late 1800s or early 1900s.  Jamie and Lorna's father has been invited to stay in a supposedly haunted house because the owner believes the father can rid the house of the ghost. The family stays in the house for the summer. There are a few strange characters who live near the house. Are they responsible for the ghost?

This is a story of friendship and keeping one's head on straight in a crisis.

This picture was right inside the front cover, and let me know that I wanted this book because I recognized Don Bolognese's style immediately.

This is a picture of one of the odd characters in the book.

This is one of the last pictures in The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden.

This is a picture of the parents and the daughters towards the end of the The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden. I'm not sure how one gets a publisher to reprint a book, but I'd love to have this one reprinted with the original artwork.

Have you ever purchased a book just because of the artwork?