Ghost of the Chicken Coop Theater
Linda Salisbury
Tabby House
PO Box 544 Mineral, VA 23117
www.BaileyFishAdventures.com
978-1-881539-44-5, 2008
Reviewed for Reader Views Kids, 03/08.
Summer is almost here! What do you plan to do with all your summer days and nights? Bailey, Fred and Noah have come up with an idea how they could make their summer fun and get extra credit for their homeschool at the same time. Let's change the old chicken coop into a theater! Sparrow is a friend of theirs who wants to be a part of the production even though she is forced to be in a wheel chair. Noah and Fred are Bailey's adopted brothers. Sugar lives with her grandmother because neither of her parents care about her.
Their dad offers to help them convert the chicken coop into a theater. As long as they help with fixing it up for rehearsals and the production of the play. After all, they still have to do their regular chores. The play should have some history in it since there are alot of ghosts in the history of their area. But the kids also like space adventures. They enlist the help of Dr Robinson who helps them with a delightful and entertaining story. They came up with the idea of charging admission because they wanted to raise money for the chickens. They brainstorm their own ideas for a play and are given an old trunk full of costumes. It looks like they might have their own production after all.
Donise and Bean check into the Keswick Inn.Donise goes by the name of Lil' Bonbon and is immediately intrigued by the children's goals. However, since she was a child actress she decides that she needs to be the #1 director. She even rips up the script that the kids worked so hard to develop. Li'l Bonbon is brutually mean to all the cast members and certainly HATES Clover, Noah and Fred`s dog. Lil' BonBon walks off in a huff. Will the production be put together by the end of summer? One of the kids thinks that they can drive, but end up in the lake and need a rescue, is there a reason why Bailey's last name is Fish?
"The Ghost of the Chicken Coop Theater" is a great story! It uses some historical facts along with a great storyline. It shows kids who have an imagination for their own fun. It also serves as a lesson on how to deal with a bully even if the bully is an adult. I loved this book and didn't want to set it down until I was completely finished. "The Ghost of the Chicken Coop Theater" will have you cackling with laughter from start to finish.
