The Mystery of Drear House: The Conclusion of the Dies Drear Chronicle - Softcover

Virginia Hamilton's books have won many awards and honors. One of these, the first book ever to win both the John Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, M.C. Higgins, the Great, was also the recipent of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. The Planet of Junior Brown was a Newbery Honor Book in 1971, and four of Virginia Hamilton's other books have been named Notable Children's books by the American Library Association.

Ms. Hamilton is married to Arnold Adoff, who is a distinguished poet and anthologist. They live with their two children in Ohio.

Grade 5-9 Hamilton returns to characters she created in The House of Dies Drear (Macmillan, 1968)the Small and Darrow families. Young Thomas Small and his family have moved into the home of Dies Drear, an abolitionist whose house was a major stop on the Underground Railroad. In the first book, the family discovered vast underground passages which led to a great treasure cavern beneath their property, containing gold and riches given to escaping slaves to help finance their trips to freedom. In this sequel, they learn more about Drear and his visitors, and they must decide what to do with the treasure, and how best to protect it (and themselves) from the ``sinister'' Darrows, who have searched for the treasure for years. The characters are colorful and delightful, and Hamilton sustains an eerie, suspenseful mood throughout the novel. Although this dank, murky story could stand on its own, the convoluted plot is best understood by those familiar with the first book. Not Hamilton at her very best, but nonetheless a good solid purchase for school and public libraries. Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, Tenn.
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