Where's Morris? The Empty Grave Book Review

Probably the oldest Weekly Reader book I own, at least according to when it was written, The Empty Grave by Ida Chittum comes from the bygone days of the 70s. 1974, to be exact, so I'm surprised my copy is still intact (though as you can see from my scan, the cover has been through some times. XD

The Empty Grave is a simple little adventure mystery. 11 year old Allen moves into an old country home with his parents. Obviously a fixer-upper, the house might or might not be haunted. The family finds part of a grave stone belonging to a 12 year old named Morris Twilling in their front walkway, and Allen decided to leave the stone in the family cemetery on the property. Soon after, odd things start to happen, like a young boy wandering about the property--at one point getting Allen in trouble--and their nearest neighbor, Mr. Mills also seems to be something of an oddball. Allen, with help from new friend Gary (a distant relative to the Twillings) seek to find out what's going on, and why Morris' grave still stands empty after almost 100 years.

Chittum seems to have also done the illustrations in the book (there is no listed illustrator), and they're all ink drawings. While stiff compared to drawings nowadays, they have a wonderful life of their own. They have nice bold outlines and very clear line work, bolstered by a good use of cross-hatching. The best one of the book is the illustration of Mr. Mills (at right). The line work in it is very rhythmic, from the lines of the hair and beard, to the wrinkles in his skin, and the cross-hatching doesn't compete with the rest ofthe lines. Another well done illustration is the one to the left of Gary and Allen going up to the attic in search of Morris' remains. The blocked in black really makes the open doorway pop, giving spotlight treatment to the boys. Both illustrations are some of my favorite children's book illustrations because of the simplicity yet bold clarity of the images.

The story is very short. One can read this in a single sitting of maybe 20 minutes. The language is nice, simple and of course a little dated. The mystery of Morris' remains shares time with a small note Allen finds in one of Morris' old books. It leads he, and Gary, onto a treasure hunt on the property in the middle of the night, amid the ghostly disembodied voices that have pursued Allen the entire book. Subplot includes Mr. Mills' odd behavior, from running about with a cage at night, to wearing a cap upside down and full of cornbread. Its

a cute, fun little story that doesn't take long to get started, nor does it take too long to finish. It moves quickly; I liken the mystery treasure hunt to a 22 minute Scooby-Doo episode. But its relatively simple. Gary is an amusing character, who comes off as amusingly jumpy. Allen is your bog-standard hero character who doesn't allow fear to get in the way of answers. While Morris doesn't appear, ghostly apparition or otherwise, his absence as well as his actions 100 years ago draw up a simple character: fun-loving, aware of his mortality (its implied Morris died young from sickness), and adventurous.

All in all, The Empty Grave is a fun little book for the young-ins, perhaps elementary aged. Its not too spooky, nor is it too flat or boring. Amazon has it for literally pennies, but you should totally pick it up if you can. Highly Recommended.

By Dio (10/25/12)

(Book and cover by Ida Chittum. Fan art by me.