About the Author

Cornelia Funke is the internationally acclaimed, bestselling author of The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and the Inkheart trilogy, along with many other chapter and picture books for younger readers. She lives in Los Angeles, California, in a house filled with books.

Reviews

Gr 3-5-In Moldy Baroness, expert ghosthunter Hetty Hyssop, her young assistant Tom, and Hugo the ASG (or Averagely Spooky Ghost) track down the awful specter of a 17th-century baroness with a nasty streak. Hetty has invented ghost-catching technologies that come in handy when confronting the ghost of Jaspara von Gloomstone, who rides around Gloomsburg Castle on her spectral horse, body-nabbing anyone unlucky enough to be nearby, and thriving on the castle's electrical power. The only way to defeat her is for Tom to reenact her death, wearing one of her old gowns, and to persuade her to touch that dress. In Muddy Monster, the now-11-year-old Tom is ready to take the exam for his GhostHunting Diploma. Suspiciously, Professor Slimeblott gives the boy an "easy" assignment-to capture a ghost (only a Danger Category Three) in the village of Bogpool. But when Tom and the other ghosthunters arrive there, it soon becomes clear that solving the mystery of what's haunting Bogpool won't be safe or easy at all. These tales are more humorous than horrific, and their plots gallop along, accompanied by fun pen-and-ink cartoons. Hugo's constant tricks and complaints provide fine comic relief, and Hetty Hyssop always has another ghost-catching invention or formula up her sleeve.-Walter Minkel, New York Public Library Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.