Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Boatman
    The Boatman
    The Boatman
    Ebook128 pages1 hour

    The Boatman

    By Kat Hawthorne and Dora Mitchell

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The Boatman is an exciting and eerie ghost story perfect for young readers ages 8-12.

    Isabel Wixon is weird. Not only does she see dead things, but her list of friends consists of a talkative ventriloquist’s dummy and the gentlemanly spider that lives in her hair. Real friends? Too hard. Inventing friends is much easier.


    Inventing the Boatman—a terrible monster that lures kids into a strange sleeping sickness and never lets them go—probably wasn’t one of her better ideas though.


    Full of suspense and intrigue, this book will captivate young readers with its supernatural elements and compelling storyline. Perfect for those who love a spooky read, The Boatman is a must-have addition to any young reader's bookshelf.


    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCommon Deer Press
    Release dateApr 30, 2018
    ISBN9781988761213
    The Boatman

    Related to The Boatman

    Related ebooks

    Children's Ghost Stories For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Boatman

    3.5/5

    22 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      This was something of a disappointment for me, as suggested by the fact that it took me more than a week to read a children's book of just 109 pages. The premise and style sounded like so much fun, but ultimately, I think the author would have benefitted from a really good editor--and I'm not talking about proofreading, which also needed some work.

      Story-wise, this read as a children's tale that was written by an adult who wanted to deliver a specific set of lessons--in other words, it suffered from feeling like it came from an adult who wasn't thinking about what kids would Want to read, but what they Needed to read. At times, the tone even felt a bit condescending toward the main child character--but kids don't want to read adult writers who are talking down to them or making it sound like their main child characters are immature or silly; they want to read about kids they can relate to, who they'd want to go on adventures with and be friends with. This was a problem that cropped out throughout the book.

      This tone issue also goes into the overall set-up of the book. Length-wise and presentation-wise, this feels like it should be a middle grade book, but it reads like something a parent would read to their child at bedtime. Put more directly... if I were old enough and mature enough to read this styling and level of language by myself, I'd probably find myself disengaging and leaving it unfinished. That's another big problem.

      On a lesser level, pacing and focus were issues (the focus kept shifting, sometimes awkwardly, and the ending was incredibly rushed), as was proofreading. But, because I liked the concept and rather enjoyed the writing at at least some points, I have to think that a lot of this came down to a lack of editing. I might very well read another work by this author, that being the case, but not if it came from this publisher. That said, I'll certainly give another book from this publisher a shot, and if I love that, then I may grow more skeptical of this writer vs. the publisher.

      One way or another, I'm afraid I couldn't recommend this book--to child or adult.
    • 4/5
      I didn't read much (any?) horror as a child. I remember having a copy of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" and generally enjoying those stories but I didn't read much else in the genre until I got older. As an adult, I really enjoyed books like Gaiman's Coraline and The Graveyard Book and feel like I would have liked them as a child. Naturally then, I was interested in checking out The Boatman.

      The main protagonist is a young girl named Izzy. As in many tragic stories, her parents are dead and she has been placed under the guardianship of her aunt Ms Slaughter. We quickly find Izzy struggling against the harsh rules and regulations of her aunt and school and life. We also quickly learn that Izzy has a penchant to observe and interact with the supernatural world around her.

      The writing in the story was entertaining and well structured. The descriptions were vibrant and the dialog was fun. I felt that the plot and story arc felt a little unsteady at points but overall it was alright.

      While I enjoyed the book, it didn't come across as exactly the book I was expecting. For some reason, the book synopsis led me to think that the supernatural elements managed to cross over into the "real" world. Specifically, the last part of the synopsis says that she "invented" the Boatman, "a terrible monster that lures kids into a strange sleeping sickness." I expected the Boatman to be a supernatural villain who came into our world (through Izzy's actions) and began preying on children in the town. Minor spoiler alert...this doesn't happen.

      The last half or third of the novel in particular really disconnected a little bit for me. The trajectory of horror novel shifted and became more of a psychological analysis (not even a psychological thriller per se). The message was insightful and interesting, if perhaps a bit heavy handed.

      I felt like this was a fun story that kids would enjoy. It's just creepy enough to draw them in without being over-the-top scary in a way that would disturb them. The message/morale of the story is nice and could open up some reassuring discussions between parents and children. I loved the inclusion of artwork in parts of the book. I feel like more young/middle reader stories should include art like this. With the wonderful descriptive language of the author, the imagery was not a necessity but it added some fun diversions while turning pages. On the whole, I found this to be an enjoyable read that I'd gladly hand over to younger readers and one that I'd be willing to read aloud. It left me wanting a little more in some cases and feeling a little off balance when transitioning from the first half to the second half. Overall it was an enjoyable experience.

      ***
      3.5 out of 5 stars
    • 3/5
      Cute story.
      "Isabel Wixon is weird. Not only does she see dead things, but her list of friends consists of a talkative ventriloquist's dummy and the gentlemanly spider that lives in her hair. Real friends? Too hard. Inventing friends is much easier.
      Inventing the Boatman - a terrible monster that lures kids into a strange sleeping sickness and never lets them go - probably wasn't one of her better ideas though."
      This book has a very cute storyline. I feel that it gets off topic a bit however. I feel that this would be better written as a short story instead of a book. The story is so simple and the plot is really straightforward which would make it a good short story.
      Very well written however, and written in a young adult sort of style. The illustrations are lovely. the fact that they are black and white really brings out the feeling of the story itself. I felt myself reminiscing on Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories books.
      All in all it was a good quick read. I enjoyed Monty immensely and found him rather humorous... for a spider ?️
    • 3/5
      There are a lot of children who come asking for scary stories and this is a good one. The illustrations are amazing. The storytelling will draw you in and take you on Isabel's journey with her. The letters at the beginning and end are a nice touch as well.
    • 4/5
      Wow. What an enchanting creepy little book. Wonderful artwork. The storytelling will transport you into the story. This is perfect for the kids that enjoy spooky stories.
    • 4/5
      I really loved this book. I came away feeling as though she never really saw her relatives, or the spooky things she encountered. It seemed to me this was her way of coping with the fact her mother and father were taken from her. I really enjoyed this book, I just wish it would have been a little longer.
    • 4/5
      Wonderfully written to spook all who reads this book. This was a wonderful spooky story that was dark and mysterious. Isabel ran into many of her deceased family members. Each warning her to stay away from the Boatman, who hunts you through your dreams. The illustrations were spot on with the story. They were weird and scary. Great book for young readers to stay up all night scared.
    • 5/5
      An endearing book on grief and how to handle it, with ghosts, villians and family.
    • 3/5
      Izzy is a young girl who lives with her aunt after her father dies. Her house has a cemetery behind it, and Izzy spends lots of her time there, talking with the ghosts she encounters, including her father. One day, a ghost warns her about the Boatman, a monster in dreams who will try to steal your soul. As Izzy attempts to learn more about the Boatman, she really learns more about herself, her family, and human nature.

      I'd recommend this to fans of ghost stories. It reminds me a bit of Coraline by Neil Gaiman, so if you enjoyed that, this book would likely be one you'd enjoy as well.

    Book preview

    The Boatman - Kat Hawthorne

    Dear Reader,

    You probably shouldn’t read this book. It’s evil. It tells the story of a terrible monster…a monster that will try to trap you in your dreams forever. Put it down. Seriously.
    You will want to deny what I have to tell you. You will want to believe this is a book of fiction, the workings of my overactive imagination or those of our unlikely heroine. But I assure you, everything I am about to say is real. Or at least I think it is.
    Quit looking at it. Go find something nice to read, something about bunnies perhaps or talking vegetables or…
    …Or maybe you should read this book. After all, if our heroine is unsuccessful, the Boatman may decide to target you next. You don’t want that. Trust me.
    The choice is yours.
    Sincerely,
    Kat Hawthorne

    One

    Ghosts ’n’ Stuff

    To the ghosts that haunted the nearby cemetery, Izzy’s pale face peering through her dark bedroom window must have looked like an oddly shaped pupil in the mansion’s only open eye. To Izzy looking out, it was barely light enough to see as far as the back fence let alone what lay beyond. But that hardly mattered. She knew.

    Ghosts tend to linger.

    The early morning sun peeped shyly over the trees of Slaughter Wood as if it too feared what the coming day would bring. Wisps of curling fog, tinted sinister shades of red and purple, rose from the damp ground and softened the appearance of everything. Izzy shivered though she was anything but cold. Some of the reaching tendrils had the in-and-out look of partly formed people. One floated up to Izzy’s second-floor window and seemed to look in at her. Its body stretched grotesquely and its mouth opened and closed as if speaking in some strange language Izzy didn’t understand.

    Undeterred, Izzy turned away and snatched up her sketchbook and pen with her already ink-stained hands. She considered washing up a bit but then laughed the idea away. Washing up was a crazy thing to do. There was no need to worry about being clean when in the graveyard. The dead hardly cared about dirt.

    She shoved herself into her tattered old trousers and her favorite wool sweater, not bothering to remove her nightdress first. Then, as quietly as she could, Izzy stepped through her bedroom door and into the hallway. She listened to be sure no one else was awake, but all she heard were the raspy sounds of the house as it snored and the voices of the stairs that grumbled when, a moment later, she went down them.

    Like a mouse that had just caught wind of a hungry cat, Izzy skittered across the enormous foyer. She made for the shadows, of which there were many, just to be safe.

    The footing got trickier as the carpet gave way to a slippery, black-and-white tiled floor that was always polished to a high sheen, reflecting everything upside-down. It made Izzy feel as though she were walking on the cold hard feet of another girl who looked just like her and had been trapped in a strange topsy-turvy world. The girl below looked up as Izzy looked down, their eyes meeting in the middle. Izzy grinned and the other Izzy grinned back. This was not the first time they’d snuck out together.

    A green upholstered chair that looked comfortable but wasn’t—Izzy knew this from experience—sat near the door. There was a strange, permanent indent in its center, as if squashed under the bum of an invisible observer. A tall lamp with a fancy beaded shade stood on a skinny wooden table nearby. Izzy saw her face reflected a thousand times in its beads as she hurried past.

    Aunt Slaughter’s butler, Albert, snoozed while standing at his post next to the door. He appeared to be hung on one of the numerous coat hooks like a noisy and particularly strange

    looking article of clothing. His hair and skin were the color of dust, his face deeply wrinkled and somehow smudged. Izzy thought he looked like a poorly cut tree stump or a sleeping troll that hadn’t moved in years.

    Izzy edged past him in utter silence, not even allowing herself to breathe. Albert snorted once and muttered something that sounded like rutabaga, but he did not rouse further. Izzy reached into the lightless depths of the hallway closet and took out her raincoat and boots. After contorting herself into them, she tucked her sketchbook inside the coat, doing her best to cover it completely. As soon as she went through the door, she would be getting wet in the never-ending autumn drizzle. This she knew from experience as well.

    Izzy twisted the heavy black key that stuck out of the front door’s lock. The grinding mechanisms inside clicked in a strange, insect-like language as invisible pieces fell into place. She lifted the latch and pulled the door open just far enough to squeeze through. She stepped onto the front landing, narrowly avoiding the puddle that was always there. The hem of her coat followed behind like the retreating tail of a magician’s cape—a magician that had just performed the disappearing act. The warm air from inside Slaughter House puffed out in a final parting belch as the door wafted shut.

    Izzy sprang down all four of the front steps in one giant leap and burst into the yard beyond. The cool fog swirled and parted as she moved across the grass of the back garden, the mist-men too slow and thin to bother her now. All around her, the overgrown topiaries appeared to come alive as their shaggy leaf-fur fluttered in the cool breeze.

    The forest that surrounded Slaughter House was haunted, though no one seemed to know that but Izzy. As she moved along the rough footpath, she saw the first real ghost of the day. A gopher rummaged through the wet, half-rotted leaves on the forest floor, its severed backend trailing behind its front by a few inches. Next came a squirrel with constantly smoking fur that searched for something it seemed unable to find. Izzy passed several mice with body parts on strange angle or missing altogether, a snake with great flattened sections on its back, and something that may have at one time been a toad, judging by the sounds it made as it flopped from front to back.

    Izzy had been afraid of these ghosts when she’d first arrived at Slaughter House, as any sensible person would be, but she wasn’t anymore. At least, she wasn’t afraid of the ghosts…

    Two

    Losing One’s Head

    …Except for the one whose voice she heard now.

    "Don’t take his oars,

    W’ever you do,

    No matter how weak he seems.

    He’ll hold you fast,

    And not let go,

    And trap you in your dreams."

    Izzy froze as the spirit of a young girl appeared before her. This morning, as she did on occasion, the girl had taken off her head. The ghost’s body hefted the head a few times, obviously fixing to lob it at Izzy. She stiffened. Izzy had never been hit by a detached head before, but she doubted it would be much fun.

    The Boatman is looking for you, the ghost-girl said so quietly Izzy couldn’t be sure if what she’d heard was the ghost’s voice or

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1