Today our spotlight author Cindy Miles has blessed us with a review so sit back and enjoy, and don’t forget to comment to be entered in the contest to win a complete set of Cindy’s books…
THAT ONE SPECIAL BOOK
Is there a single book, out of the myriad of books you’ve read throughout your life, that stands out in your mind? One that touched you, fascinated you, scared you or wowed you in a way that you’ll never forget?
I have many favorite books, from genres and subgenres across the fiction board that I love and have re-read over–more than once, such as Haunted Ground by Erin Hart; Lisey’s Story by Stephen King; Sunrise Song by Kathleen Eagle. Three different genres and I’ve read each one multiple times. But I’d be here all night listing all my favorites if I started RIGHT NOW. Lol! So I’m going to pull just one out of my favorites memory bank, and it’s probably one of my very first favorites: The Ghost of Dibble Hollow by May Nickerson Wallace. One hundred and fifty-five pages long, it was first published by Scholastic Books in 1965 and sold for .45 cents. I wasn’t around in 1965 to utilize that fine price but a copy was given to me when I was eight years old. I read it over and over! Somehow, and at some point, I was separated from it and it wasn’t until 2001 that I found a copy on eBay for $22.00 and bought it. For those who have never heard of it or read it, here’s the back-cover blurb:
Out of the graveyard comes a ghost–the ghost of ten-year-old Miles Dibble. “I’ve been waiting a long time for you to come to Dibble Hollow, Cousin,” he tells Pug. “Now you must help me find that lost money.”
From that moment on, the ghostly Miles leads Pug from one spooky adventure to another. Pug gets used to chairs that rock by themselves, shutters that bang mysteriously, and hair that stands on end.
And all the while he follows the clues to the weirdest treasure hunt with the ghost of Dibble Hollow.
The cover absolutely fascinated me; a big sprawling ancient tree with a boy walking down a dark, dirt road swinging a flashlight and a shovel, and spooky transparent Miles Dibble peering around the side of the tree. The book itself held me captive from the first page until the last. I loved the few-and-far-between sketched pictures inserted at just the right time to throw in atmosphere, and whenever Miles would “appear”, either by way of rocking a chair with no one in it, or appear on the end of Pug’s bed in shimmery white form, I was enthralled. I love my copy now; you open the pages and you can smell 1965–it’s that musty, most excellent old book smell. And to this day I love re-reading it. I write ghostly romances, and if I had to point the finger at one book in my reading life that possibly led me to my writing what I write, it was this one. It inspired me on all things ghostly–even before I knew I wanted to write about them!Do you have a favorite? Does it hold meaning, or a memory? Have you read it over and over! Do tell!
To check out more ghostly stories inspired by Miles Dibble (and May Nickerson Wallace!) stop by and visit me at my web home: www.cindy-miles.com
My all time favorite book would have to be A witness for the Defense, a murder mystery book that is full of twists and turns. I read it atleast once a year because by then I forget who the villain is!
I've never been a big ghost or scary story reader, but Cindy definitely makes it seem interesting, maybe I will have to check one out!
When I was younger I read Charlotte's Web, I was always an animal lover but this book put voices and brought everything to life for me. Influenced me even to this day on how I view other living things. As for when I got older I would have to say Jude Devereaux's Knight in Shining Armor got me into the romance world where it has now taken over my life. I still love to read this book, it is still just as good as the first time I read it.
How funny that you just posted this review this week. I was thinking about The Ghost of Dibble Hollow on my way home from work tonight, but I couldn't quite come up with the name. I read it close to 40 years ago and absolutely loved it. This and The Forgotten Door were the best kid books that no one has ever read. The Phantom Tollbooth, James and the Giant Peach, and Wrinkle in Time were brilliant, but The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, The Forgotten Door and another book about a girl who goes to live in the woods with her aunt were the three books I went back to over and over. I wish I could remember the title of the girl-in-the-woods book.
Thanks for posting this.
This was one of my favorite books when I was young. I love the way it was written and it was also an inspiration to me. I liked ghost stories when I was young, but eventually I began to research family and local history to find the real stories that would be lost if someone didn’t put the pieces together. It’s been an absolutely fascinating journey and I’ve found many stories as interesting as that of the fictitious Miles and Pug! Love this book! Anyone who is enchanted by this might also like “Magic Elizabeth” by Norman Kassirer (sp?), if you can find it. It is a story for slightly younger children with a girl for the main character, but it is also about solving a mystery from long ago and putting pieces together. No ghost in that one, but a dream/”time-shifting” aspect that is thought-provoking..
Ah- another reader who remembers Miles and Pug! This was one of the books I ordered through school and I can remember the day the order for our classroom would come in. The teacher would have the big box and pull out books according to our order slips. Man- the excitement as the stack would build up under my name- and then rushing home to devour the books. “Dibble Hollow” was a favorite and I too had to turn to the Internet to get a copy decades later. Now i plan to pass it along to other kids!