Books with author John Bellairs

A boy tries to stop a rampaging robot in this “deliciously wicked fun” tale by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (School Library Journal) When feared Yankees slugger Cliff Bullard goes barnstorming around the northeast, offering $10,000 to any local pitcher who can strike him out, Professor Childermass and Johnny Dixon get a sneaky idea. There’s a local legend about a crackpot inventor who once built a robot capable of throwing a baseball 110 MPH, and the professor thinks that if they find the machine, they can win Bullard’s prize. They discover the rusted old monstrosity in an abandoned workshop and put it back together, piece by piece. But when they screw in the robot’s eyes and it comes to life, they realize they have made a terrible mistake. As soon as it’s activated, the robot attacks, trying to kill Johnny and the professor. Was it made to be a killing machine, or have its circuits been corroded? To save the town and get a crack at the $10,000, Johnny and the professor will have to tame the steel beast. The adventure stories featuring Johnny Dixon, from the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, are a delightfully imaginative treat, and this book in the popular series features “a unique plot, marvelous characters, and non-stop suspense” (School Library Journal).

Settled into his new life, Lewis seems content living with his magical Uncle Jonathan and neighbor Mrs Zimmermann. He even has a new best friend, Rose Rita, who loves to play sports, build Roman ship models and play with magic—all the things Lewis loves to do too! After discovering Grandpa Barnavelt's 1859 lucky coin, Lewis is certain that it is magical, so he puts it to the test—he recites one of Mrs Zimmermann's spells to awaken its magic. Only Lewis hasn't awakened a good sort of magic. As he wears the coin around his neck, sinister things start to happen. Strange letters addressed to Lewis arrive at midnight, a dark shadowy figure begins to follow him in town and something seems to be inside his body controlling his actions. As the figure in the shadows appears more and more, Lewis is possessed by its power, unable to free himself. Has Lewis awakened a force beyond his control? And can Uncle Jonathan, Mrs. Zimmermann and Rose Rita make it in time to rescue Lewis?

Rose Rita wishes she could go to camp like her best friend, Lewis. She's sure that boys get to have all the fun, but instead she must stay at home and get ready to attend Junior High, where she will have to do "girly" activities—something she hates! That is until Mrs. Zimmermann offers her an adventure of her own—a trip to cousin Oley's farm. Mrs. Zimmermann's cousin Oley has left her his farm, as well as a ring that he thinks is magic. But when Mrs. Zimmermann and Rose Rita arrive at the deserted farm, the ring has mysteriously vanished. Strange things start to happen around them—Mrs. Zimmermann becomes ill, Rose Rita keeps on seeing scary images and Mrs. Zimmermann goes missing. What power does this magical ring have? Will the person who took the ring use it to do evil? And will Rose Rita be able to rescue Mrs. Zimmermann from whatever evil force has taken her?

A fantasy classic by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls—basis for the Jack Black movie—and “a writer who knows what wizardry is all about” (Ursula K. Le Guin). A richly imaginative story of wizards stymied by a power beyond their control, A Face in the Frost combines the thrills of a horror novel with the inventiveness of fairy tale–inspired fantasy. Prospero, a tall, skinny misfit of a wizard, lives in the South Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Along with his necromancer friend Roger Bacon, who has been on a quest to find a mysterious book, Prospero must flee his home to escape ominous pursuers. Thus begins an adventure that will lead him to a grove where his old rival, Melichus, is falsely rumored to be buried and to a less-than-hospitable inn in the town of Five Dials—and ultimately into a dangerous battle with origins in a magical glass paperweight. Lin Carter called The Face in the Frost one of “the best fantasy novels to appear since The Lord of the Rings . . . Absolutely first class.” With a unique blend of humor and darkness, it remains one of the most beloved tales by the Edgar Award–nominated author also known for the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series.

A young hero and his professor friend set out to save a priest from a ghost, in this novel by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls Aside from the eccentric Professor Childermass, young sleuth Johnny Dixon’s best friend may be Father Higgins, the kindly priest at the local church. When Higgins is transferred to the congregation in the tiny town of Rocks Village, Johnny and the professor are afraid they won’t see their old friend ever again. But they’ll be reuniting with Father Higgins sooner than they think—and the thing that brings them together will be positively out of this world. No sooner has Father Higgins moved than he begins seeing a ghost lurking around the church. The apparition is a young girl who never speaks, but has a habit of leaving cryptic notes around Higgins’s house. When Higgins disappears, Johnny and the professor follow his trail, embarking on a haunting quest that will lead them all the way to England. In The Secret of the Underground Room, this multimillion-selling, Edgar Award–winning author offers a good old-fashioned ghost story packed with adventure and suspense.

A boy sneaks into an old church to confront a mad ghost in this adventure by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls It’s the 1950s when Johnny Dixon’s mother dies, his father goes to fight in the Korean War, and he goes to live with his grandparents. Although life in a new house is strange, Johnny’s “Grampa” listens to his favorite ballgames, takes him on long walks, and tells him stories of the strange mysteries that lurk in the shadows. Best of all, he’s friends with Professor Childermass, an eccentric academic who’s about to take Johnny on the adventure of a lifetime. When the professor learns Johnny loves ghost stories, he tells the boy the spookiest legend in Duston Heights, Massachusetts—the tale of the haunted church on the edge of town, with demonic carvings on its altar, and the troubled spirit of mad Father Baart, who is said to have killed two people before vanishing long ago. With the professor as his guide, Johnny sets out on a quest that will put him face-to-face with the crazy, long-dead priest. The first book in the delightful Johnny Dixon series by the author who provides “suspense and action aplenty” (Booklist), The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a good old-fashioned Gothic adventure.

Mrs. Zimmermann hasn't regained her powers from her last encounter with dark magic, and Uncle Jonathan and Lewis have left for the summer to travel, leaving her and Rose Rita bored and lonely at home. That is until Mrs. Zimmermann sees visions and shadows of her old magic teacher, Granny Wetherbee, trying to contact her from beyond the grave. Mrs. Zimmermann and Rose Rita set off to Pennsylvania to solve the mystery and in doing so travel back in time to Granny Wetherbee, who tells them that they must save a good wizard who is destined to die for a wrongdoing he didn't commit.

A fantasy classic by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls—basis for the Jack Black movie—and “a writer who knows what wizardry is all about” (Ursula K. Le Guin). A richly imaginative story of wizards stymied by a power beyond their control, A Face in the Frost combines the thrills of a horror novel with the inventiveness of fairy tale–inspired fantasy. Prospero, a tall, skinny misfit of a wizard, lives in the South Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Along with his necromancer friend Roger Bacon, who has been on a quest to find a mysterious book, Prospero must flee his home to escape ominous pursuers. Thus begins an adventure that will lead him to a grove where his old rival, Melichus, is falsely rumored to be buried and to a less-than-hospitable inn in the town of Five Dials—and ultimately into a dangerous battle with origins in a magical glass paperweight. Lin Carter called The Face in the Frost one of “the best fantasy novels to appear since The Lord of the Rings . . . Absolutely first class.” With a unique blend of humor and darkness, it remains one of the most beloved tales by the Edgar Award–nominated author also known for the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series.

A boy detective is on the hunt for buried treasure in this young adult mystery from the beloved author of The House with a Clock in its Walls. Anthony Monday doesn’t have many friends, and his home life is a wreck. But he does have Miss Eells, the librarian at the Hoosac Public Library, and he has an adventure waiting for him right around the corner. When Miss Eells gives Anthony a job at the library, he thinks he’ll just be dusting shelves and filing books. Instead, he discovers a hidden clue leading to the treasure of eccentric millionaire Alpheus Winterborn. Miss Eells thinks the clues are a practical joke left by the odd, old Winterborn before he died. But if that’s the case, then why do things start getting so scary so quickly? The closer they get to solving the mystery, the closer Winterborn’s evil nephew Hugo Philpotts lurks in the shadows, waiting to snatch the treasure out of their hands. This first book in John Bellairs’s Anthony Monday Mystery series will have young readers on the edge of their seats, desperate to race ahead to the story’s final surprise.

A boy sneaks into an old church to confront a mad ghost in this adventure by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls It’s the 1950s when Johnny Dixon’s mother dies, his father goes to fight in the Korean War, and he goes to live with his grandparents. Although life in a new house is strange, Johnny’s “Grampa” listens to his favorite ballgames, takes him on long walks, and tells him stories of the strange mysteries that lurk in the shadows. Best of all, he’s friends with Professor Childermass, an eccentric academic who’s about to take Johnny on the adventure of a lifetime. When the professor learns Johnny loves ghost stories, he tells the boy the spookiest legend in Duston Heights, Massachusetts—the tale of the haunted church on the edge of town, with demonic carvings on its altar, and the troubled spirit of mad Father Baart, who is said to have killed two people before vanishing long ago. With the professor as his guide, Johnny sets out on a quest that will put him face-to-face with the crazy, long-dead priest. The first book in the delightful Johnny Dixon series by the author who provides “suspense and action aplenty” (Booklist), The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a good old-fashioned Gothic adventure.

Settled into his new life, Lewis seems content living with his magical Uncle Jonathan and neighbour Mrs Zimmermann. He even has a new best friend, Rose Rita, who loves to play sport, build Roman ship models and play with magic - all the things Lewis loves to do too!After discovering Grandpa Barnavelt's 1859 lucky coin, Lewis is certain that it is magical, so he puts it to the test - he recites one of Mrs Zimmermann's spells to awaken its magic. Only Lewis hasn't awakened a good sort of magic. As he wears the coin around his neck, sinister things start to happen. Strange letters addressed to Lewis arrive at midnight, a dark shadowy figure begins to follow him in town and something seems to be inside his body controlling his actions.As the figure in the shadows appears more and more, Lewis is possessed by its power, unable to free himself. Has Lewis awakened a force beyond his control? And can Uncle Jonathan, Mrs Zimmermann and Rose Rita make it in time to rescue Lewis?