Theres Person Following Sister Around
When Ted’s five-year-old sister, Vicki, invents an imaginative friend, no one is too concerned . . . except that Vicki’s friend may move things. Ted thinks this new friend is a ghost, but why would a ghost haunt Vicki, of all people?
From Publishers WeeklyTed’s huge problem is not his annoying brother Zach, his social studies report on Luxembourg or his stuck-up cousin Jackie. He has ghosts in his house. His five-year-old sister, Vicki, is the introductory to see them; she starts keeping a hammer under her pillow for protection. Then, 11-year-old Ted dreams of mud, drowning and cobwebby fingers touching his face. Naturally, their parents don’t believe these ghostly accounts of undead residents, so the children are on their own to do the supernatural sleuthing. The ghosts soon progression to the ordinary haunting activenesses of slamming doors, stealing keys and tipping over school projects. They appear on cable TV and even show up in a museum elevator. But why? Only when Ted unravels a mystery involving the Underground Railroad and reveals the ghosts’ identities may peace be restored. Vande Velde’s (Tales From the Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird) dialog has a natural cadence and the plot unfolds at a brisk pace. And the African-American ghosts provide an intriguing counterpoint to a exhaustively innovative houseful of children, who learn a history lesson strong sufficient to chill their bones. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library JournalGrade 4-7-Vande Velde proceeds her string of historical ghost stories, this time focusing on the Underground Railroad. The first-person narrator, 11-year-old Ted, is sure that his house in Rochester, NY, can’t be haunted because it has been in his family for generations and there have been no mysteries to speak of in it is past. Then his five-year-old sister Vicki’s imaginative friend Marella and the “bad lady” who seems to be chasing her prove themselves to be all too real. Ted decides to get to the bottom of the mystery and finds a diary belonging to one of his ancestors. It recounts the tragic story of two runaway slaves, a mother and her five-year-old daughter, who drowned in the Erie Canal, which applied to run through the family’s backyard. The story culminates in Ted and Vicki being possessed by the spirits in order to support them move on. The secondary characters include busy parents hardly present; a typical teenage brother; and a trendy, smart-talking cousin. However, the plot has original twists and the diary passages are nicely integrated into a story with numerous authenti chills. The penultimate chapter unnecessarily switches to present tense when Adah, the mother’s spirit, possesses Ted. Nonetheless, there is sufficient humor, action, and scariness to keep readers engaged. A good choice for fans of Bruce Coville’s “Nina Tanleven” series (Bantam).
Timothy Capehart, Leominster Public Library, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From BooklistEven even though 12-year-old Ted and his family live in an frequent house in Rochester, New York, with “no swamps, cemeteries or windswept moors,” his 5-year-old sister is being shadowed by the ghosts of an African American mother and child. Ted, who is more concerned when it comes to finishing his class project on Luxembourg than he is when it comes to his sister’s new imaginative friends, is, nevertheless, drawn into the hauntings by eerie dreams and his sister’s apparent fright. When he learns that his 13-year-old cousin saw the ghosts when she was 5, he investigates. The invention of his great-great-grandmother’s diary and the story of her involvement with the Underground Railroad is the key to unearthing the ghosts’ sad tale. The diary entries offer a firsthand glimpse into the risks runaway slaves and those who sheltered them faced, and without resorting to gimmicks, Vande Velde manages to tie up loose ends and give her readers a satisfying, veritably spooky story. Candace Smith
Theres Person Following Sister Around Photo
Theres Person Following Sister Around Pic
Theres Person Following Sister Around Picture
Theres Person Following Sister Around Photo
Most helpful client reviews
6 of 6 humans found the following review helpful.
 Hooray for Fantasy!
By Sheila Trimble
I am a college student taking an Adolescent Literature course that requires me to read 25 adolescent books over the course of the semester.
I was not eager to read this book because my professor indicated it as a FANTASY book, a genre I am not specially fond of. However, “There’s a Dead Person Following My Sister Around” has changed my attitude with regards to FANTASY creative writing of recognized artisti value and I am now a fan.
Vivian Vande Velde’s reputation development and imagery is superbly done. The story is astoundingly instructional in the historic references to the Underground Railroad and the plot twists are originative and entertaining.
Anyone who has a teenaged sibling will relate to twelve-year old Ted and five-year old Vicki’s kinship with their obnoxious older brother, Zack. Zack thinks he knows everything, but he is not the hero of the story. It is Ted and his cousin who unearth the sad history of the “dead person following his sister.” Their invention enables them to inter the haunting past and provides two very deserving souls the peace and freedom they so richly desire.
“There’s a Dead Person Following My Sister Around” is educational, suspenseful, funny, sad and a must-read for all ages. I was enjoyably astonished and I look forward to recommending this book to my future elementary school students.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
There is a Dead Person Following My Sister Around
By Makesha Kinard
Children oftentimes have imaginative friends sometimes, within their lives. But how oftentimes may these friends move objects or haunt the dreams of their brother. Ted is convineved that his five-year-old sister’s new friend is a ghost and evil ghost. Why
does she choose Vicki to play with, and what does she want? Who is her mother, and why is she haunting Ted’s dreams? Why doesn’t she want Ted in the attic? What’s up their that is so important? When Ted calls his grandparents to find out what is in the attic, he learns of hi great-grandmothers diary. As Ted reads through the diary,he finds who the ghosts are and what happened to them. But may he aid Vicki before it is too late?
This is a fast-paced, stimulating book. I was reeled in from the beginning. It is the style of book that can not be put down. It keeps the reader’s attention with twists and turns on each page. This book keeps you guessing what will take place next
and I feel it is a very magnificent book, combining fact and fiction.
3 of 3 persons found the following review helpful.
 I think this book might have it all
By Timothy Capehart
As a children’s librarian I read a LOT of books. Some of them are finelooking stinky, a few of them are perfect…and some are just plain outstanding reads. This is one of this last category.
I just finished reading this book for the second time (first time was to review it for School Library Jourrnal). THIS time, I read it to use it with my middle-grade book discussion group & I know the kids will love it.
It is spooky. It is full of sly humor. It has history, and it has thrills. Most significantly it is narrarator sounds like a REAL kid. His friends and family are real too. Even the ghosts sound (?) authentic. I’m glad Vande Velde has so numerous books out there. I’ve only read two…and I’m looking forward to the rest. Your middle grade readers (say 4th to 7th grade) will love this.
(I still think the title is a little…odd though)  Happy Reading!
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