What do you think?
Rate this book
Third-Grade Ghosthunters #1
The Haunting of Grade Three
This is an Alternate Cover Edition of ISBN: 0590438689
We never believed in ghosts before!
There it was. The old Blackwell mansion! One big monster of a building. It had dark towers, pointed gales, and shadowy arches. And it was haunted! Or at least that's what most people thought.
The third grade of Elmwood Elementary was spending the year there because the school's main building was overcrowded. And very strange things were happening. . . .
We never believed in ghosts before!
There it was. The old Blackwell mansion! One big monster of a building. It had dark towers, pointed gales, and shadowy arches. And it was haunted! Or at least that's what most people thought.
The third grade of Elmwood Elementary was spending the year there because the school's main building was overcrowded. And very strange things were happening. . . .
94 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
9 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Grace Maccarone
122 books18 followersGrace Maccarone is an American children’s book editor and author, notably of Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, illustrated by Christine Davenier, and its sequel Miss Lina’s Ballerinas and the Prince. She has also worked as an editor at Scholastic, Wireless Generation, and currently Holiday House.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 15, 2013
July 13, 2013
I loved The Haunting of Grade Three when I was a kid. I read it multiple times--probably curled up on my pink flowered bedspread, surrounded by My Little Ponies and wearing stick-on earrings and slap bracelets. When I saw that it had gotten several poor reviews on Goodreads, I decided to reread the book and see just what my eight-year-old self found so compelling.
Answer: Mysterious building. Ragtag group of kids tasked with solving a mystery. Creative problem-solving. Alright, so the Ghostbusters and Burger King references are out-dated, and the plot jumps around pretty quickly. I still think this little book has appeal for the right kind of kid and would have made a cute series. In fact, I remember coming across a sequel sometime when I was a teenager--The Return of the Third-Grade Ghosthunters--though I don't remember much about it.
Anyway, my eight-year-old self gives two thumbs up to The Haunting of Grade Three.
I loved The Haunting of Grade Three when I was a kid. I read it multiple times--probably curled up on my pink flowered bedspread, surrounded by My Little Ponies and wearing stick-on earrings and slap bracelets. When I saw that it had gotten several poor reviews on Goodreads, I decided to reread the book and see just what my eight-year-old self found so compelling.
Answer: Mysterious building. Ragtag group of kids tasked with solving a mystery. Creative problem-solving. Alright, so the Ghostbusters and Burger King references are out-dated, and the plot jumps around pretty quickly. I still think this little book has appeal for the right kind of kid and would have made a cute series. In fact, I remember coming across a sequel sometime when I was a teenager--The Return of the Third-Grade Ghosthunters--though I don't remember much about it.
Anyway, my eight-year-old self gives two thumbs up to The Haunting of Grade Three.
November 29, 2021
The author manages to capture the reality of the life and social interactions of grade 3 students. It's also a fun read especially when dealing with the haunting of the old Blackwell manor currently used to house the grade 3 overflow from Elmwood Elementary.
Would be a perfect read around Halloween although there are excellent subtle reasons, like project research ahem, for reading it any time of the year.
Would be a perfect read around Halloween although there are excellent subtle reasons, like project research ahem, for reading it any time of the year.
January 28, 2020
I read this as a child, and all I remember 30 years later is everyone being mean to Norma Hamburger.
I appreciated the ensemble cast and switches in perspective allowing for the chance to relate to just about any character, but at the end of the day (SPOILER ALERT) it's hard to get excited when the result of the zany exploits of precocious 10-year-olds only leads to a local government intervening to uphold building codes.
Meg Wallace saved her father from an evil from another dimension at 13. Harry Potter secured the Sorcerer's Stone at 11. So like.... aim higher?
I appreciated the ensemble cast and switches in perspective allowing for the chance to relate to just about any character, but at the end of the day (SPOILER ALERT) it's hard to get excited when the result of the zany exploits of precocious 10-year-olds only leads to a local government intervening to uphold building codes.
Meg Wallace saved her father from an evil from another dimension at 13. Harry Potter secured the Sorcerer's Stone at 11. So like.... aim higher?
January 25, 2020
Cute book with bad jokes.
December 19, 2016
The Haunting of Grade Three is a chapter book published in 1987 by Lucky Star, which was an imprint of Scholastic, it appears, from 1986 to 1993. It was later republished as a Little Apple paperback.
This is the gentle story of a third grade class that has been temporarily relocated to Blackwell House, a rumored haunted mansion in the town of Elmwood. After some mysterious occurrences disrupt the class's work one afternoon, teacher Mr. Jenkins incorporates ghost hunting into his history lesson, assigning Adam, Norma, Dan, Debbie, Joey, and Chuck to investigate ghostly happenings around the school and try to locate their source. These kids wouldn't normally hang out together - the boys constantly tease Norma, because her last name is Hamburger, and Dan and Joey stand out as the biggest kid and the biggest liar in third grade, respectively. But despite all of this, they come together to visit the Blackwell House at night and get to the bottom of the creepy hauntings once and for all.
The most egregiously dated references in this book were to the Ghostbusters movie, whose theme song is referenced throughout the book, and to the old Burger King jingle ("Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce.") The first sentence also talks about a VHS player, which is how Adam watches Ghostbusters. I think the overcrowding issue that has caused the students to be displaced to Blackwell House is also an issue that was especially timely in the late 80's and early 90's. I can remember that issue coming up in my own childhood, resulting in various classroom changes and shifts. That's not to say that aspect of the book wouldn't make sense nowadays - it just seemed like it was included to make the book feel more contemporary at the time of its publication.
In terms of writing style, I'm trying to think of books that are like this one that are being published today, and I can't name many. It seems like chapter books have become largely focused on long, formulaic series, or at least series that follow one individual character. And what I like about these older books is that they are often one-shots that stand on their own, and there are lots of them, set in lots of different places.
I also thought it was interesting that this book switches so often between points of view. So many chapter books are written in first person now, that it really caught my attention when I realized the narrator bordered on omniscient and could leap from one character's mind to the other as necessary.
Finally, I liked that this book sought the logical explanation behind suspected hauntings without falling into a hokey Scooby Doo trope. The kids wind up unmasking a scientific problem, not a criminal mastermind, and that felt like a much more realistic and kid-empowering conclusion.
These days, Grace Maccarone is an author and editor for Scholastic. I'm pretty sure I've seen some of her easy reader titles on the shelves at my library. Illustrator Kelly Oeschli passed away in 1999, but he was an illustrator for many children's books, including titles based on Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.
This is the gentle story of a third grade class that has been temporarily relocated to Blackwell House, a rumored haunted mansion in the town of Elmwood. After some mysterious occurrences disrupt the class's work one afternoon, teacher Mr. Jenkins incorporates ghost hunting into his history lesson, assigning Adam, Norma, Dan, Debbie, Joey, and Chuck to investigate ghostly happenings around the school and try to locate their source. These kids wouldn't normally hang out together - the boys constantly tease Norma, because her last name is Hamburger, and Dan and Joey stand out as the biggest kid and the biggest liar in third grade, respectively. But despite all of this, they come together to visit the Blackwell House at night and get to the bottom of the creepy hauntings once and for all.
The most egregiously dated references in this book were to the Ghostbusters movie, whose theme song is referenced throughout the book, and to the old Burger King jingle ("Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce.") The first sentence also talks about a VHS player, which is how Adam watches Ghostbusters. I think the overcrowding issue that has caused the students to be displaced to Blackwell House is also an issue that was especially timely in the late 80's and early 90's. I can remember that issue coming up in my own childhood, resulting in various classroom changes and shifts. That's not to say that aspect of the book wouldn't make sense nowadays - it just seemed like it was included to make the book feel more contemporary at the time of its publication.
In terms of writing style, I'm trying to think of books that are like this one that are being published today, and I can't name many. It seems like chapter books have become largely focused on long, formulaic series, or at least series that follow one individual character. And what I like about these older books is that they are often one-shots that stand on their own, and there are lots of them, set in lots of different places.
I also thought it was interesting that this book switches so often between points of view. So many chapter books are written in first person now, that it really caught my attention when I realized the narrator bordered on omniscient and could leap from one character's mind to the other as necessary.
Finally, I liked that this book sought the logical explanation behind suspected hauntings without falling into a hokey Scooby Doo trope. The kids wind up unmasking a scientific problem, not a criminal mastermind, and that felt like a much more realistic and kid-empowering conclusion.
These days, Grace Maccarone is an author and editor for Scholastic. I'm pretty sure I've seen some of her easy reader titles on the shelves at my library. Illustrator Kelly Oeschli passed away in 1999, but he was an illustrator for many children's books, including titles based on Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.
October 22, 2018
Most kids never have the opportunity of attending school in a spooky mansion, but that's what happens for Elmwood Elementary's third-graders when the main school gets full. Blackwell House has plenty of space to contain the overflow of students, even if there have been rumors for years that the place is haunted. Adam, his best friend Chuck Webber, pint-sized Joey Baker, low-key Norma Hamburger, big, strong Danny Biddicker, and gregarious Debbie Clark are assigned an unusual committee project by their teacher, Mr. Jenkins: investigating the supernatural incidents reported to have occurred in and around Blackwell House. Is there legitimacy to claims that the building shakes on its foundation, or that spectral faces occasionally appear in darkened rooms or inside the boys' bathroom? It's up to Adam and his committee to discover the answers, but learning to blend their own clashing personalities will be hard enough. Chuck often makes meat jokes about Norma Hamburger, Joey is ignored for being the smallest kid in third grade, Danny is socially awkward because he's so big... Can these kids work together toward a common goal?
After stumbling onto an old grave marker on the grounds of Blackwell House for Thomas Blackwell, a boy not much older than himself, Adam inquires at the Elmwood Historical Society and is introduced to Frederick David Blackwell, Thomas's adult grand-nephew. Mr. Blackwell is more artist than historian, but knows a few details about Thomas's death. Could the boy still be hanging around his family home as a disillusioned ghost? The only way to find out is for Adam, Chuck, Joey, Norma, Danny, and Debbie to sneak to Blackwell House at night and thoroughly investigate. Urban legends thrive in darkness, but a bit of light shed on Blackwell House could put to bed rumors that have swirled for decades. Are Adam and his friends smart and brave enough to ferret out the truth behind their "haunted" school?
There isn't much to The Haunting of Grade Three, but it's fun for what it is. Readers will feel like part of a group as they explore the mansion with Adam and the others, trying to solve the mystery alongside them. The book isn't particularly memorable, but it hits the right notes for kids learning to read independently, and I'd rate it one and a half stars. If you want some light scares and a simple story, consider The Haunting of Grade Three. You'll have a good time.
After stumbling onto an old grave marker on the grounds of Blackwell House for Thomas Blackwell, a boy not much older than himself, Adam inquires at the Elmwood Historical Society and is introduced to Frederick David Blackwell, Thomas's adult grand-nephew. Mr. Blackwell is more artist than historian, but knows a few details about Thomas's death. Could the boy still be hanging around his family home as a disillusioned ghost? The only way to find out is for Adam, Chuck, Joey, Norma, Danny, and Debbie to sneak to Blackwell House at night and thoroughly investigate. Urban legends thrive in darkness, but a bit of light shed on Blackwell House could put to bed rumors that have swirled for decades. Are Adam and his friends smart and brave enough to ferret out the truth behind their "haunted" school?
There isn't much to The Haunting of Grade Three, but it's fun for what it is. Readers will feel like part of a group as they explore the mansion with Adam and the others, trying to solve the mystery alongside them. The book isn't particularly memorable, but it hits the right notes for kids learning to read independently, and I'd rate it one and a half stars. If you want some light scares and a simple story, consider The Haunting of Grade Three. You'll have a good time.
October 30, 2022
I read this book aloud to my third grade class. There was nothing I found to be inappropriate or too scary about it. The third grade classes are in the Blackwell Mansion while their school is being renovated. Odd things happen like all the pencils falling off of everyone’s desks at once. One teacher assigns his class a town research project. One group’s project is to find out if the school is really haunted. The group must overcome their differences and come up with a plan to bust this ghost. The resolution is anti-climatic and none of the characters or their relationships are all that well-developed.
June 15, 2025
This was a cute story. Not the best book I've ever read, but by far not the worst either. The characters had some personality and the plot seemed reasonable and moved along at a nice pace. I think this would definitely be a good read for its intended audience, although a couple of things mentioned definitely date the story. All in all, an enjoyable read.
June 22, 2017
Not really as scary as I hoped. About a bunch of 3rd graders who get out on a committee to investigate if there are ghosts at their school.
November 20, 2017
im geting mad it wont let me READ I'M SO DISAPPOINTED!
January 24, 2021
I used to LOVE this book when I was a kid - read it over and over again! Buying it for my kids now!
June 10, 2021
It was cute, super fast read.
October 6, 2021
This was really cute.
June 3, 2022
to scary for me.
September 3, 2022
This is the first book I ever bought myself when I was 10 back in 1991. My dad sent it to me from our storage unit and read it again just to see why I loved it so much. Still a great read.
November 16, 2024
Cute read aloud for my students for Halloween!
April 23, 2013
This book is about a group of students in the third grade. There are mysterious things happening in their classroom and everyone thinks the third grade is haunted. Their teacher gives everyone a history assignment that includes a "ghost hunters" group. These ghost hunters have to find out why the mysterious happening are effecting their third grade class that is actually the old Blackwood Mansion. The illustration in this book are ok, but not as appealing. They look like quick sketches to me. I remember being in the third grade and scared of things I thought were moving in my classroom. My 3rd grade students insisted that I read a couple chapter in the dark for the effect. I rated this book 5 stars because even though the books illustrations weren't much to look at, the author did a wonderful job keeping the students attention.
There were so many personalities in this book. I used a graphic organizer to help make predictions about the book before, during, and when we were done.(http://www.learningthroughlistening.o...) After that the student wrote a summary about the book. I asked them to make sure they point out any parts that stood out the most for them. The graphic organizer is a wonderful tool to use alongside this reading.
Grade:3-5, Lexile:540L, Guided Reading Level: O
There were so many personalities in this book. I used a graphic organizer to help make predictions about the book before, during, and when we were done.(http://www.learningthroughlistening.o...) After that the student wrote a summary about the book. I asked them to make sure they point out any parts that stood out the most for them. The graphic organizer is a wonderful tool to use alongside this reading.
Grade:3-5, Lexile:540L, Guided Reading Level: O
March 9, 2013
This series is very dated. There are MANY references to the original move Ghost Busters. But now, the references will be very lost on kids reading this series. I found the plot difficult to follow in the beginning of the book. In retrospect I would NOT have given this series to my students to read. If I had trouble getting into the plot/story line, I can only imagine the difficulties my students will face.
At the end the story line comes together, and suddenly one understands what the kids were trying to do and solve. It seemed that the author almost wasn't sure where she wanted to begin, and put a bunch of ideas together. It just did not work. This series will not be used in my classroom next year.
At the end the story line comes together, and suddenly one understands what the kids were trying to do and solve. It seemed that the author almost wasn't sure where she wanted to begin, and put a bunch of ideas together. It just did not work. This series will not be used in my classroom next year.
February 2, 2015
The book was mainly about a haunted school that no one new about it until one day when things went wrong, everyone was just getting taught the lesson from the teacher. When all the pencils on every single persons desk fell off then people started freaking out so did a kid named Adam who always believed in ghosts. Later on in the story he wanted to go on search for the ghosts at night, but he didn't want to go alone so he brought his friends so they went all night through the haunted school. Then they found out that the school was really haunted.
My opinion on this book is it was a pretty good book but it could of been better.
I recommend this book to someone who is interested into ghost books and other certain fiction.
My opinion on this book is it was a pretty good book but it could of been better.
I recommend this book to someone who is interested into ghost books and other certain fiction.
June 28, 2012
i thought this book was ok because on the first page,page 7 i did not understand how the book started and on page 19 i didnt like that adam didnt believe the boy who said he seen a ghost.i think my sister would like this book because she like ghost mystery books because she likes toe suprised with whats gonna happen next.one challenging part of this book was the wa i was told because it was like beig told backwards.i think that adam is one of thoose kids who thin there better than everyone and that he has to rove he brave to people
Read
August 29, 2011According to a great list I found at home in NJ, "Books I have read this summer," I now know that I read this. I also know, thanks to the book in my profile pic being on the list, that it was the summer of 1989!
Read
October 2, 2007Maccarone, Grace PB
June 22, 2017
Not one of the better books I read as a kid...
May 24, 2012
Easy read & funny...the kids liked it
November 22, 2013
The students really liked this one.
November 7, 2019
I literally read my paperback of this to death as a kid. The cover came off and everything. Ah, book love.
February 12, 2015
My favorite from elementary school...
November 23, 2017
So funny. They scared of ghost and they will find out a history, there who live in house long time ago and changed to school.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews