John Bellairs

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring, by John Bellairs.

I found my copy of ‘House’ completely by accident at Yesterday’s Warehouse. I had no idea one of my favorite authors (‘The Face in the Frost’) had written such a book, and that it was illustrated by Edward Gorey was just too good a bonus. A young orphan (I liked Lewis; he was sort of a chubby Charlie Brown), an old house, wizards and witches, a mystery and humor – it was right up my alley. I almost immediately ordered the next two books from the college bookstore, the first time I’d ever done such a thing. ‘Figure’ is illustrated by Mercer Mayer and ‘Letter’ by Richard Egielski. All three are Dell Yearling. ‘House’ was made into a TV special introduced by Vincent Price (“Once Upon a Midnight Scary”), and quite recently a movie with Jack Black and Cate Blanchett – a little disappointingly. Good actors, poor casting. Trying to fill that Harry Potter vacuum, I think. I love the book “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” next to idolatry, so perhaps no adaptation would have ever been good enough. They didn’t let Lewis be fat!

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novels. Softcovers.

The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn, by John Bellairs. Illustrated by Judith Gwyn Brown. Cover by Edward Gorey.

A Bantam Skylark book, as the next batch of Bellairs books would be. The start of the Anthony Monday books. Young Anthony goes seeking clues to find the secret treasure left by the town’s founder, with the help of his librarian friend, the eccentric Miss Eels. It was adapted into a television special in 1980, with Dody Goodman and Al Lewis, called (after the framing device) “Sherlock Holmes Finds the Clue”.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Mystery. Children’s Book. Softcover.

The Curse of the Blue Figurine (Johnny Dixon), The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt (Johnny Dixon), The Dark Secret of Weatherend (Anthony Monday), The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull (Johnny Dixon), The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost (Johnny Dixon), The Eyes of the Killer Robot (Johnny Dixon), The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb (Anthony Monday), The Trolley to Yesterday (Johnny Dixon), The Chessmen of Doom (Johnny Dixon), The Secret of the Underground Room (Johnny Dixon), The Mansion in the Mist (Anthony Monday), by John Bellairs. Illustrated by Edward Gorey.

All Skylark Bantams, except ‘Underground’ and ‘Mansion’, where they switch over to Puffin Books. All good books, but they don’t stand out individually to me. I liked the character of Professor Childermass in the Johnny Dixon books, a cranky eccentric English teacher with an explosive temper but a heart of gold. The Anthony Monday stories started out as adventure stories and then got more supernatural as they went along. I followed them religiously as they came out. Then John Bellairs died.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novels. Softcovers.