Title: Rowley Peters and the Lumberjack Ghost
Publisher / Publication date: Chicken Scratch Books (April 1, 2025)
Language: English
Paperback: 181 pages
Genre: Early Middle-grade Mystery
ISBN-10: 1953743455
ISBN-13: 978-1-953743-45-9
Reviewed by: Bibi Belford
Frogs and Mummies and Ghosts, Oh My!
Carol L. Paur writes a row-licking good tale with her middle grade novel Rowley Peters and the Lumberjack Ghost. The story is set in Northern Wisconsin, and much to Rowley’s dismay, in a family campground along Lake Michigan. She would much rather vacation at a less rustic waterpark. Kids who have camped will commiserate with Rowley as she battles noises, spiders, and pit toilets, but will also reminisce about pudgy pies over campfires, peaceful woodsy walks, and lake kayaking. Kids who’ve never camped will want to try it.
Paur includes a grand cast of characters in Rowley Peters and the Lumberjack Ghost. Although Rowley is an only child, her best friend Huey’s family has been invited to camp as a surprise, and their crew includes four kids. The two sets of parents add humor and nuance to the camping vacation. Unusual campground guests and workers add the fright factor. There’s also Dakota, the bully back home, who weighs heavily on Rowley’s mind as she contemplates how to fulfill Dakota’s demand on the last day of school.
Rowley has a vivid imagination, especially for ghost sightings, and at first it seems that Rowley has contrived the strange occurrences—frogs, a frog lady’s warning, a weird RV neighbor and his barking dog, mummy excavation, historical copper artifacts from 4000 B.C., and a ghost storyteller—into something paranormal when they’re only unrelated events. But as Rowley journals her observations, and Huey helps with reality checks, the friends make some interesting discoveries.
Layered beneath Paur’s ghost adventure are themes of self-acceptance, recognizing bullies and dealing with them, and learning to cooperate and compromise with friends. Paur uses her own lived experience with a craniofacial disorder to make Rowley’s situation feel authentic. Kids who live with similar differences will identify and value being acknowledged. Educators will appreciate Rowley’s focus on creative and scientific writing and can use the information about the Copper Culture as a springboard for more research.
Rowley Peters and the Lumberjack Ghost pays homage to the tried-and-true Nancy Drew Mysteries and The Hardy Boys, setting the stage for more adventures, much like the Sugar Creek Gang books or Aaron Johnson’s National Park Mystery Series. It gives readers who enjoy being frightened just the right amount of spookiness while also highlighting the value of time with friends and family.
