Ghost Riders: True Ghost Stories of Plains, Trains & Automobiles. Barbara Smith. Edmonton, AB: Ghost House Books (Distributed by Lone Pine Publishing), 2004. 143 pp., pbk., $9.95. ISBN 1-894877-56-X. Subject Heading: Ghosts-Juvenile fiction. Grades 3-7 / Ages 8-12. Review by Gillian Bernard. * /4

excerpt:

The menacing sports car was immediately put into storage again where it stayed, without any evil activity, for several months. Then, thinking that the bizarre horrors the Porsche Spyder seemed to cause might finally be over, the California Highway Patrol brought out the deadly vehicle once more. After being lifted onto the back of a transport truck, the evil car was on the road again. When the driver stopped for coffee along the route, he set his rig’s parking brake. Despite that precaution, the big truck with James Dean’s demolished car still on top, rolled into the coffee shop window. Miraculously, no one was hurt and the trip to the next high school went on as though nothing had happened.

Ghost Riders is one in a series of books jumping on the “horror” bandwagon. The cover, which depicts a ghostly skull on the front of an old-fashioned steam engine train, is very appealing to young readers. The contents consist of 23 short stories loosely tied to the “planes, trains, and automobiles” theme. I cannot recommend this book. Firstly, the stories should have been arranged according to the theme presented in the title. Instead, the author has added in boats, roads, buildings, and models, which are outside the scope of the theme. Secondly, although the stories are very short, a characteristic which should make them appealing to reluctant readers, the vocabulary used is far too high to make them readable at the lower level. While many students will pick up Ghost Riders based upon the cover and the title, many of them will also put it down because of its organization and challenging vocabulary.

Not Recommended.

Gillian Bernard is a junior high teacher with the Calgary Board of Education.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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