Nina Tanleven

For sixth-grader Nina Tanleven, nothing is scarier than auditioning for a play at the famous old Grand Theater. But Nina changes her mind when she climbs on stage to audition-and sees a ghost sitting in the audience! Then, even stranger things happen. Scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down, and everyone fears the ghost wants to stop the play. Everyone, of course, except Nina and her best friend Chris. They discover that fifty years ago, a gorgeous young actress was murdered on the Grand Theater's stage. According to legend, the actress has haunted the theater ever since. Nina and Chris think they know what her ghost wants-but it will take some spooky ghost hunting to prove it! Packed with fun-filled adventure and captivating mystery, Bruce Coville's delightful story starring Nina Tanleven-America's youngest ghostbuster-is a popular choice for young listeners.

For sixth-grader Nina Tanleven, trying out for a part in a play is pretty scary. But nothing can compare to seeing a ghost, a woman in white, sitting in the audience! Nina senses that she has nothing to fear from this apparition, but she is intrigued. Nina learns that fifty years ago, a beautiful actress was murdered-on this very stage! According to legend, she has haunted the theater ever since... Strange things begin to happen-scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down, a costume is torn to pieces-and everyone thinks that the ghost wants to stop the show from going on. Everyone, that is, except for Nina and her best friend, Chris, who decide to do some ghost hunting of their own. But only the Woman in White can lead them to the answer!

Nina Tanleven and her best friend Chris are delighted to spend the remainder of the summer with Nina's architect father at the rambling old country inn he has been hired to restore. On the afternoon they arrive, the girls pause for a closer look at some faded Civil War photographs hanging in the hallway, fascinated by one picture in particular of a handsome Confederate soldier whose dreamy eyes hold them enthralled. But in the midst of all their oohing and aahing a shivery sensation passes between them, like an icy hand on the back of their necks. It feels as if someone is standing there with them, looking right over their shoulders! This strange presence proves to be none other than the ghost of the handsome soldier himself, and he appears to be trying to get the girls' attention, haunting their room at night, even sitting down at the dinner table with them! When Nina and Chris finally hear his sad story, they are swept up in a dangerous tale involving a secret room, treachery, and the Underground Railroad.

Sixth-grader Nina Tanleven knows that old Mrs. Watson's spike-roofed, dark green house is haunted. She feels the ghost as soon as she walks toward the faded porch. But when Nina climbs the stairs to look for an antique wardrobe in the tower room, she has to wonder what else the spooky mansion is hiding. Soon Nina is in the company of a ghostly crying child, a long-dead artist, and a gruesome, hypnotic painting. To break the dark spell surrounding the house, she will have to join forces with these shadowy spirits. Bruce Coville is the author of dozens of books for young readers. He has been a storyteller, teacher, and actor. It was his love for the theatre that led him to write his first book about Nina Tanleven, The Ghost in the Third Row. The feisty Nina, his favorite ghostbuster, is sure to become yours, too.