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43 Old Cemetery Road #1
Dying to Meet You
Enter at your own risk: You might just DIE laughing.
The best-selling author Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road, hoping to find some peace and quiet so that he can crack a wicked case of writer's block.
But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied--by an eleven-year-old boy named Seymour, his cat, Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive.
And they have no intention of sharing!
The best-selling author Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road, hoping to find some peace and quiet so that he can crack a wicked case of writer's block.
But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied--by an eleven-year-old boy named Seymour, his cat, Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive.
And they have no intention of sharing!
155 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 2009
104 people are currently reading
5,262 people want to read
About the author
Kate Klise
60books341followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the ŷ data base.
Catherine "Kate" Klise is an American author of children's literature. Many of her books are illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. Their popular Regarding series is presented in a scrapbook style format, with letters, journal entries, and related ephemera telling the story. She is also known for her picture books as well as the bestselling 43 Old Cemetery Road series. Kate Klise's first adult novel, In the Bag, was released in 2012.
Catherine "Kate" Klise is an American author of children's literature. Many of her books are illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. Their popular Regarding series is presented in a scrapbook style format, with letters, journal entries, and related ephemera telling the story. She is also known for her picture books as well as the bestselling 43 Old Cemetery Road series. Kate Klise's first adult novel, In the Bag, was released in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,018 reviews
October 11, 2023
3,5 Sterne
Auf dieses Buch war ich sehr gespannt, da ich Gespenstergeschichten eigentlich sehr mag. Dieser erste Band der Reihe hat mir gut gefallen, obwohl ich mit dem Erzählstil erst einmal warm werden musste. Die Geschichte wird vorwiegend in Briefform erzählt, was in Ordnung ist, aber es mir nicht so schnell ermöglicht, eine Beziehung zu den Charakteren aufzubauen.
Nach dem Einlesen hat mir die Geschichte dann aber gut gefallen, auch wenn sie anders ausfiel als erwartet. Die Hintergrundgeschichte ist eigentlich sehr traurig. Ich bin nun aber neugierig auf den zweiten Band der Reihe.
Auf dieses Buch war ich sehr gespannt, da ich Gespenstergeschichten eigentlich sehr mag. Dieser erste Band der Reihe hat mir gut gefallen, obwohl ich mit dem Erzählstil erst einmal warm werden musste. Die Geschichte wird vorwiegend in Briefform erzählt, was in Ordnung ist, aber es mir nicht so schnell ermöglicht, eine Beziehung zu den Charakteren aufzubauen.
Nach dem Einlesen hat mir die Geschichte dann aber gut gefallen, auch wenn sie anders ausfiel als erwartet. Die Hintergrundgeschichte ist eigentlich sehr traurig. Ich bin nun aber neugierig auf den zweiten Band der Reihe.
August 6, 2022
Welcome to 43 Old Cemetery Road.
All you need is a house that's old and creaky. . .
filled with lots of books. . .
a cat. . .
a person who's willing to try again. . .
someone who promises never to leave. . .
and most important of all. . .
a little Hope.
Love this new series. The house may look like it is past its prime, but it is not ready to be torn down yet. The Klise sisters have given us a tale rich in imagination and punny names like Seymour Hope, Paige Turner (the editor), Anita Sale (real estate agent), and E. Gadds (lawyer). Told in epistolary style, this humorous and slightly paranormal tale will have you hooked and ready to track down the next book.
All you need is a house that's old and creaky. . .
filled with lots of books. . .
a cat. . .
a person who's willing to try again. . .
someone who promises never to leave. . .
and most important of all. . .
a little Hope.
Love this new series. The house may look like it is past its prime, but it is not ready to be torn down yet. The Klise sisters have given us a tale rich in imagination and punny names like Seymour Hope, Paige Turner (the editor), Anita Sale (real estate agent), and E. Gadds (lawyer). Told in epistolary style, this humorous and slightly paranormal tale will have you hooked and ready to track down the next book.
January 24, 2018
Ignatius B. Grumply, an author who hasn't written a new book in more than 20 years, rents an old Victorian house in Ghastly, Illinois for the summer in hopes of finishing a book. It will be the 13th book in his Ghost Tamer series. He's really got to finish it, as he owes back rent, copious amounts of attorney fees and has spent a $100,000 advance from his publisher. He believes a summer of peace and quiet in a big rambling house will help him conquer his writer's block and churn out a book. Boy, is he ever wrong. When he gets to Ghastly, he finds his house inhabited by a little boy, his cat....and a ghost. Turns out the contract he signed to rent the house included care of little Seymour Hope and his cat Shadow. You see, his parents think he is .... well, crazy....because he says he is friends with a ghost in the house named Olive. And, they are big-wig scientists going on a tour of Europe to present proof that ghosts don't exist. What could be more embarrassing to them than a son who says he is friends with a ghost? Needless to say, Grumply is grumpy that he has to share his house with a boy. And the boy and ghost are grumpy that they have to share with Grumply. This book is filled with letters written between all the characters over that magical summer. Can Grumply make friends with his housemates, and write his book??
I think this is one of the most charming and fun children's stories I've ever read! The concept is creative and cute. The illustrations are just as much a part of the story as the text itself. This was fun to read!! There are seven books in this series and I will definitely be reading them all. I think the cutest thing about the story is that all the names are puns: Olive C. Spence, Anita Sale (a real estate agent), Seymour Hope (the little boy) and his parents Les and Diane Hope, Frank N. Beans (private Investigator) and I.B. Grumply. Too cute!
Definitely 5 star rating from me.....what a hoot!! :)
I think this is one of the most charming and fun children's stories I've ever read! The concept is creative and cute. The illustrations are just as much a part of the story as the text itself. This was fun to read!! There are seven books in this series and I will definitely be reading them all. I think the cutest thing about the story is that all the names are puns: Olive C. Spence, Anita Sale (a real estate agent), Seymour Hope (the little boy) and his parents Les and Diane Hope, Frank N. Beans (private Investigator) and I.B. Grumply. Too cute!
Definitely 5 star rating from me.....what a hoot!! :)
February 12, 2014
Years ago I found at a library sale and was amazed at the inventiveness of the Klise sisters (one is the writer, one is the illustrator and they are definitely both doing the heavy lifting). This is book one in a separate series but it mirrors the "Regarding the..." books as illustrated epistolary mysteries for kids - I'm just surprised they aren't more highly regarded (maybe they are but I don't know that I've ever heard anything about them anywhere). Anyway, for children who like mysteries and/or for children who prefer comics to books these would be perfect. I liked this a bit less than the best of the "Regarding the..." series, but still well worth reading and I'll find the others. Congratulations to the Klises on another winner!
April 29, 2022
Romāns vēstulēs jaunajiem lasītājiem. Lieliskas vārdu spēles, īpaši ar personvārdiem. Piemēram, grāmatu izdevēja vārdā Paige Turner vai dāma, kas spokojas - Olive C. Spence.
July 17, 2013
This is a quick, breezy read that will appeal to children of all ages, particularly reluctant readers or those struggling with a lack of illustrations. Told exclusively through written communications, this book features letters, newspaper articles, and drawings. I thought that this was a unique and effective way to tell the ghost story and enjoyed notices about missing library books, advertisements to sell the house and Grumply’s increasingly irate letters to his fellow roommates. Each character is given their own type font so it is easy to keep the characters separate. Grumply types his letters on his computer, Seymour writes his by hand and Olive uses a breezy, light font that is lovely, but still formal. The illustrations are simple pen-and-ink drawings that could have been drawn by a child (as Seymour is supposed to have drawn them), as well as small drawings accompanying the newspaper articles in the book.
The story is short and you should find yourself rapidly turning pages as there is not a great deal to read on each page (barring the newspaper articles, which contain more information and a smaller type). The plot is simple: convince Grumply that ghosts exist and help Olive get published so she can move on. Seymour and Olive try a variety of things to get Grumply to believe in ghosts, with varying degrees of success, before they finally persuade him that Olive really exists. Once Grumply passes through that hurdle, it is an easy step to write a book with Olive, a failed author in her own time (who ironically tried to write books very similar to Dying to Meet You), which completely changes his life.
Though brief, Dying to Meet You has all that a younger reader will be looking for. Seymour is critical to helping Grumply overcome his writer’s block, Olive is a very interesting and likeable ghost, and Grumply is that grouchy old man who children will love to hate � at first. If you have a slow reader or one who is struggling to bridge the gap between chapter books and full-length books, the 43 Cemetery Road series is a great choice for boys and girls alike!
The story is short and you should find yourself rapidly turning pages as there is not a great deal to read on each page (barring the newspaper articles, which contain more information and a smaller type). The plot is simple: convince Grumply that ghosts exist and help Olive get published so she can move on. Seymour and Olive try a variety of things to get Grumply to believe in ghosts, with varying degrees of success, before they finally persuade him that Olive really exists. Once Grumply passes through that hurdle, it is an easy step to write a book with Olive, a failed author in her own time (who ironically tried to write books very similar to Dying to Meet You), which completely changes his life.
Though brief, Dying to Meet You has all that a younger reader will be looking for. Seymour is critical to helping Grumply overcome his writer’s block, Olive is a very interesting and likeable ghost, and Grumply is that grouchy old man who children will love to hate � at first. If you have a slow reader or one who is struggling to bridge the gap between chapter books and full-length books, the 43 Cemetery Road series is a great choice for boys and girls alike!
September 20, 2018
I absolutely LOVED this book. I finished it in one sitting and laughed out loud. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series and sharing it with my students.
September 14, 2022
What a fun book! The way it's written is different and adorable. I love the names of all the characters. Super cute story.✨� 5�
November 2, 2023
This was such a fun multimedia Halloween read!
June 27, 2022
5 stars
My daughter and I are going to a book discussion at her school this evening about this book. I had forgotten about it until yesterday, so I read the whole thing today. It is a quick read full of of letters and newspaper articles, frequently with illustrations. This is really a fun, cute, and amusing ghost story. It's appropriate for upper elementary grades. With character names such as E. Gadds and Seymore Hope sprinkled throughout its pages, I was kept entertained.
My daughter and I are going to a book discussion at her school this evening about this book. I had forgotten about it until yesterday, so I read the whole thing today. It is a quick read full of of letters and newspaper articles, frequently with illustrations. This is really a fun, cute, and amusing ghost story. It's appropriate for upper elementary grades. With character names such as E. Gadds and Seymore Hope sprinkled throughout its pages, I was kept entertained.
September 8, 2019
Such a cute spooky middle grade book that's told completely in the form of letters back and forth between characters. Has a really cute message about love and friendship as well. So worth he read. Super short as well.
August 22, 2021
What a unique and fun book to read!!! The epsitolary style of this book was brilliant! I bet this would be such a fun read for young readers. Highly recommend!
December 29, 2021
I ate, slept, and breathed this book in fifth grade. I read it no joke like 20 times that year. Every couple of days I would re read it and find something new and fun in it. Idk how to explain how much I love it it’s just so adorable.
November 7, 2019
Cute story, made me giggle.
September 3, 2024
incredibly cute
January 17, 2018
Bittersüßes Gespensterabenteuer mit viel schwarzem Humor und toller Aufmachung.
November 28, 2017
Lustige und kreative Kindergeschichte. Liebevoll geschrieben. Hat mir sehr gut gefallen.
February 5, 2017
Das größte Manko an diesem Buch ist, dass es sich nicht entscheiden kann, was es sein will; eine locker-leichte Gespenstergeschichte für die Kleinen, eine amüsante Geschichte für Erwachsene, etwas Tiefergehendes für angehende Teenager. So ist es nicht Fisch und nicht Fleisch. Und diese, sagen wir mal Laxheit, merkt man an vielen Dingen im Buch bis hin zu Logikfehlern. Da hat z.B. ein Geist schon viele Hundert Jahre... gehabt, kam aber ca. aus dem 19. Jahrhundert.
Als Kind, habe ich das Gefühl, hätte ich mich oft gelangweilt. All die miesepetrigen Briefe an Anwälte und Verlage. Und ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob mir die Sprache streckenweise nicht zu kindisch gewesen wäre. Wenn ich dann für die moralischen Betrachtungen mit 12 Jahren langsam alt genug bin, ist das Buch für mich eventuell schon zu langweilig.
Ich muss hierbei sagen, dass ich mir das Hörbuch angehört hatte. Eventuell gewinnt die Geschichte, wenn man das Buch mit seinen Illustrationen liest. Aber auch das Thema in der Geschichte ist eher uninteressant für Kinder. Diese Art Erwachsenenwelt wird auch nicht schmackhafter für kleine Leser, wenn die Figuren (Herr Griesgram) sich albern benehmen.
Ich glaube, das ist hier reine Geschmacksfrage und da es ein Kinderbuch ist, sollen das auch Kinder entscheiden.
Als Kind, habe ich das Gefühl, hätte ich mich oft gelangweilt. All die miesepetrigen Briefe an Anwälte und Verlage. Und ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob mir die Sprache streckenweise nicht zu kindisch gewesen wäre. Wenn ich dann für die moralischen Betrachtungen mit 12 Jahren langsam alt genug bin, ist das Buch für mich eventuell schon zu langweilig.
Ich muss hierbei sagen, dass ich mir das Hörbuch angehört hatte. Eventuell gewinnt die Geschichte, wenn man das Buch mit seinen Illustrationen liest. Aber auch das Thema in der Geschichte ist eher uninteressant für Kinder. Diese Art Erwachsenenwelt wird auch nicht schmackhafter für kleine Leser, wenn die Figuren (Herr Griesgram) sich albern benehmen.
Ich glaube, das ist hier reine Geschmacksfrage und da es ein Kinderbuch ist, sollen das auch Kinder entscheiden.
December 13, 2022
Very funny! And fun to read!
July 25, 2013
How I happened to read this book was kind of mysterious, appropriately enough.
While cleaning my room last week I found, in a pile of papers, a scrap piece of paper with the words "Dying to Meet You" written on it. It was in my handwriting, but I had no memory of when I wrote it. I was pretty sure it was a book title though, so I looked it up on the library website and--tada! there it was.
This was a really cute book! I didn't love it, but it made me feel like writing. Not only because the main character was suffering from writer's block, but because nothings fires my imagination like old houses full of ghosts and/or secrets.
While cleaning my room last week I found, in a pile of papers, a scrap piece of paper with the words "Dying to Meet You" written on it. It was in my handwriting, but I had no memory of when I wrote it. I was pretty sure it was a book title though, so I looked it up on the library website and--tada! there it was.
This was a really cute book! I didn't love it, but it made me feel like writing. Not only because the main character was suffering from writer's block, but because nothings fires my imagination like old houses full of ghosts and/or secrets.
October 27, 2009
The 2 sisters have collaborated again on another graphic epistolary novel, the first in a new series. I was getting sick of their other series, "Regarding the...", so I'm glad they've started a new one, with interesting and likeable characters. This story had a slow beginning--I almost gave up on it--but it picked up toward the end. I hope the next book in the series is a bit faster paced. A promising start to a new series.
March 27, 2015
This book was incredibly funny. Mr. Grumply was such a cantankerous old man when the book started, but then warmed up to Seymour and definitely Olive.
There was definitely chemistry between the three of them.
The narration is what makes this story so great. Mr. Grumply it's writing about himself writing about himself. Oh and Olive is helping too, of course.
There was definitely chemistry between the three of them.
The narration is what makes this story so great. Mr. Grumply it's writing about himself writing about himself. Oh and Olive is helping too, of course.
September 21, 2012
A fun, fast read. This is our first ever Books & Brownies (grades 3-5) book club pick, and I think it's going to work well. The book lends itself to so many easy extension activities, and it's a great light ghost story (read: not at all scary!) for October.
January 3, 2017
Letters, letters. I love everything written in the form of letters.
March 19, 2022
This is probably where my Love for found family was born ngl.
Also this makes me want to reread House in the Cerulean Sea
Also this makes me want to reread House in the Cerulean Sea
Read
January 17, 2024I just remembered this series, and how much I loved it as a kid. I kind of want to reread them now...
February 20, 2021
This book came up on my weeding list at the library because it hasn't been circulating. But the more I looked at it, the more interested I became, so I decided to give it a second chance at life and check it out myself. And I loved it! Why aren't kids checking this out?
Perhaps it is the format. I admit, I was turned off by the format at first glance. It looked overwhelming to me. I am not generally a fan of multimedia type books, like , for example. But when I read reviews that mentioned the story is told through letters, I decided to look more closely. Then I realized that the majority of the pages are simply letters typed or handwritten on various stationary/letterhead. So once you know who is writing, you can ignore a lot of the stuff at the top. Other than that, there are a handful of newspaper articles, which give more of a sense of what's going on than you would get from the letters alone. I thought it worked really well, and the characters' personalities really came through in their letters. Besides, a lot of kids like books that look like they're written in journal format or have some other interesting format that breaks up the walls of text, so this seems like something they would enjoy.
As I read, I also wondered if kids would find it as entertaining as I did. Some parts of the story that I appreciated might not resonate as much with young readers (for instance, the way Mr. Grumply's experiences over the years have changed him - it seems like you need a certain amount of experience yourself to fully grasp this as a reader). I also loved the old-fashioned rich lady way Olive spoke. And I burst out laughing at the reference to her being in the Guinness Book of World Records for rejection slips - I'm not sure kids would get how funny that is. Still, the best children's books are ones that can be enjoyed by various ages, so hopefully that's the case here. There are certainly lots of books in this series, indicating that someone else is enjoying them. I'm just not sure why they're not going out at my library.
I will have to try promoting this one to my patrons because I thought it was fantastic, funny, and very charming.
Perhaps it is the format. I admit, I was turned off by the format at first glance. It looked overwhelming to me. I am not generally a fan of multimedia type books, like , for example. But when I read reviews that mentioned the story is told through letters, I decided to look more closely. Then I realized that the majority of the pages are simply letters typed or handwritten on various stationary/letterhead. So once you know who is writing, you can ignore a lot of the stuff at the top. Other than that, there are a handful of newspaper articles, which give more of a sense of what's going on than you would get from the letters alone. I thought it worked really well, and the characters' personalities really came through in their letters. Besides, a lot of kids like books that look like they're written in journal format or have some other interesting format that breaks up the walls of text, so this seems like something they would enjoy.
As I read, I also wondered if kids would find it as entertaining as I did. Some parts of the story that I appreciated might not resonate as much with young readers (for instance, the way Mr. Grumply's experiences over the years have changed him - it seems like you need a certain amount of experience yourself to fully grasp this as a reader). I also loved the old-fashioned rich lady way Olive spoke. And I burst out laughing at the reference to her being in the Guinness Book of World Records for rejection slips - I'm not sure kids would get how funny that is. Still, the best children's books are ones that can be enjoyed by various ages, so hopefully that's the case here. There are certainly lots of books in this series, indicating that someone else is enjoying them. I'm just not sure why they're not going out at my library.
I will have to try promoting this one to my patrons because I thought it was fantastic, funny, and very charming.
Read
October 29, 2017Dying To Meet You is a book written by Kate Klise, and it is the first book in the series. This book, is written in all letter format, and it is about a famous writer named Ignatius B. Grumply who suffers from writer’s block. He is looking for a place that is quiet, so he can work on his thirteenth book of his Ghost Tammer series. He finds a mansion, and rents it for a month, while the owners are in a trip to Europe for their tour. After he rents it, he finds out that the owners are trying to sell the mansion, and that they left their son, Seymour Hope, behind, while they went on their tour. Since they were on tour, who ever rented the mansion was in charge of taking care of Seymour and his cat, until the parents come back. Les and Diane Hope[the parents] didn’t take him, because they said they didn’t think that they were cut out to be his parents, and they didn’t want his “nonsense� talk about a ghost that is apparently living with them, on their tour. The ghost he is referring to is a ghost that is living with them, that also happens to the the woman who built the mansion. Her name is Olive C. Spence, and she is haunting the house until one of her many books that has been rejected is published. Throughout the book, Ignatius gets to know Olive, and they publish the thirteenth book together and Seymour and Ignatius buy the house, and Seymour decides to live with forever. Now they created their own kind of family with Seymour, Ignatius, the cat, and Olive.
Read
March 27, 2018I read the book 43 Old Cemetery Road Dying to Meet You, by Kate Klise. This book is about a writer with a bad case of writer's block. So he decided to rent a haunted house for the summer to give him some inspiration to write.
The main setting of the story is the haunted house on 43 Old Cemetery Road. The story was told in first person by the main character, Ignasius. The main characters were Ignasius, olive, and Seymore. The main conflict is Ignasius vs. Olive, or Ignasius vs. himself.
I liked the book, overall I thought it was pretty good. I just think it was a little slow. But i did enjoy this book because I never knew how the book was going to turn out. I would recommend this book to whoever is looking for a good book.
The main setting of the story is the haunted house on 43 Old Cemetery Road. The story was told in first person by the main character, Ignasius. The main characters were Ignasius, olive, and Seymore. The main conflict is Ignasius vs. Olive, or Ignasius vs. himself.
I liked the book, overall I thought it was pretty good. I just think it was a little slow. But i did enjoy this book because I never knew how the book was going to turn out. I would recommend this book to whoever is looking for a good book.
October 18, 2019
I love to break up my reading with a children's book or four. The 43 Old Cemetery Road series is very addicting and one I would have loved as a child. Set up as an epistolary read told through letters and newspaper articles. Such a fun book as everyone in the story has a name that sounds like something else appropriate for their character. Anita Sale is the real estate agent. Seymour Hope is the boy who was abandoned by his parents. I.B. Grumply is the author struggling to write his next book. It's hilarious. Perfect book to read around Halloween since it involves a creepy, old house and a ghost. Follow I.B. Grumply's transformation with the help of the resident ghost, Olive C. Spence. Not scary but extremely entertaining.
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