All the Lovely Bad Ones

Hahn, M. (2008). All the Lovely Bad Ones. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Brief Annotation: “To all the little children:- The happy ones; and sad ones; the sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones; the good ones- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.” (Hahn, 2008). Travis and his sister Corey visit their grandmother at a very old Inn in Vermont. They learn quickly that the inn used to be haunted. They decide to be mischievous and pretend to be the ghosts at the Inn- attracting guests and people from all over who are fascinated by the ghosts. Travis quickly realizes that they have also attracted the actual ghosts who once lived there. They were back and wanted very much to rest peacefully. Travis and Corey have to help the lovely bad boy ghosts who want to be free from the spirit of the woman who killed them. Will they be able to free the boys and get out of the Inn safely?

Genre: Thriller- Contemporary Fiction

Grade Level: Grades 5-8

Readers who will like this: Students who are not afraid will like this book! I would not recommend it to people who scare easily- I was pretty afraid actually! It’s a more mature read and there are many words and no pictures in the book, so the student would need to be a fairly advanced reader. It is a good mystery and is a lot of fun.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4, I really enjoyed the book even though I was fairly afraid! It is a quick read and is a lot of fun. The story is interesting and they captivate the ghost boys in a really fun way. They give them goofy characteristics, which make the book a little more lighthearted, but ultimately the book is a ghost story and you hope for the ghosts to go away quickly. I think this story will be told around campfires for many generations to come.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: “ Would you ever want to go to a haunted Inn to find a ghost?”

Reading Strategies Connection: Before reading this book I would have the students look at the quote on the back of the book. ““To all the little children:- The happy ones; and sad ones; the sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones; the good ones- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.” ( Hahn, 2008). I would ask them to do a character quote and see what they think the quote may be about and what it could mean to the story. I would have them share in small groups and start to prepare for the book. (Yopp & Yopp, 2010, pg. 32).