During a recent conversation, my husband said he remembered the first chapter book he ever read by himself. He didn’t remember the title perfectly, but with the help of Amazon, I found it! Who Walks the Attic by Laura Bannon. I asked him if it was worth $7 to read it again. He said it was.
It came today, and he read it on his lunch hour. I asked if it was a good book. He said, “No.”
I read it later, and he asked me if it was scary, and I said, “No.”
However, I did chastise him for not warning me that there was a reference to a boy having once been bitten by a squirrel. He said he had laughed at that part. But, to me, it’s no laughing matter. Well, it is now, but my squirrel-bite incident sure wasn’t funny at the time. I wish I could say it gives me nightmares or something, but it doesn’t. It’s just a fun story to tell.
Oh, what a lot of books there must have been in the world, even way back when we were in grade school. (One of my grandsons was surprised to learn that we had sophisticated enough plastic at that time to have fairly modern toys.) I had never heard of this book, published in 1962, and wasn’t familiar with the author.
Laura Bannon was an author and an artist. She wrote and illustrated several children’s books, and also illustrated books by other authors. Many of her books were based on her travels around the world. This book was published the year before she died, and the introduction says the story takes place in the area in Michigan where she went to school when she was a child. Maybe she was ready to come home.
The story: The Blair family has recently moved to the country from Detroit. Dad and Mom had to go back to the city for a few days so they left the four kids to take care of things at the new house. The oldest sister is college-age, so that’s okay.
Their very first night alone in the house, the two boys hear a noise in the attic that needs to be investigated. Hollis, the oldest boy, maybe twelve years old, wants so badly to have a mystery to solve that everyone assumes he’s making a big deal out of nothing.
Hollis and his younger brother, Mike, investigate by themselves for a couple of days. There are some very convenient circumstances for having a mystery. Near the house is a place where hobos hang out. There is talk that thieves are living in the wheat field. A rather creepy-looking neighbor man behaves oddly, and the neighbor boy seems to be hiding something. Hollis and Mike gather all the clues and come to a very reasonable conclusion. Unfortunately, a red herring or two have been thrown in.
Hollis compiles all the clues and writes them down, but Mike leans more toward art than mystery-solving, so he draws the clues. My husband and I both thought this was the funniest part of the story.
The best part is that it ends with squirrels.
Who Walks the Attic is a gentle introduction to chapter books and to mysteries. There is plenty of suspense to keep a young reader turning the pages. There are enough clues and suspects to keep anyone guessing. But the end is humorous, and we find out there was never any real danger.
This book may not appeal to my husband anymore, but I think a grandson who is about to turn eight would enjoy it. Especially if a gift of a ratty old paperback came with a story about it being the first chapter book Grandpa remembers reading.
You may be able to find this book on Amazon, but it is currently out of print. Check other used book sellers, and watch library sales. You might score a hardcover edition!
You can find more information about this book at biblioguides.com.
Sara and I also discuss this book on the “Our Reading Life” podcast with Tanya Arnold and Sarah Kim of biblioguides.com.