Haunted Library Books In Order

Publication Order of The Haunted Library Books

Libraries are seen as fountains of knowledge. Subsequently, libraries might seem unlikely settings for paranormal books. But Dori Hillestad Butler’s aptly titled series goes against the grain. For starters, The Haunted Library is the title of a literary series created by American penwoman Dori Hillestad Butler. Author Butler is in her fifties, having been born in 1965 in Fairmont, in the United States. However, she is a resident of Kirkland, Washington.

Multi-award winning writer Dori Hillestad Butler’s bibliography comprises of about forty two works (some of them have been ghostwritten) and she specializes in series of books, chapter books, picture books, middle-grade novels, and suchlike non-fiction work. Buttler has been a librarian, a ghostwriter, editor during her schooling days, and library page. Her debut book was published in late 1996.

The Haunted Library Series: Background
According to Dori Hillestad Butler, who is a volunteer librarian, she gets spontaneous ideas for her books which she expounds. People, things, and situations that have been instrumental in crafting The Haunted Library Series include her father, a friend called Karen, writer friends, the Coraville Public Library, and her Butler’s stint as library page when schooling.

The character named Grandma Karen in The Haunted Library series is modeled after Butler’s real-life friend called Karen, who works as a teen programmer at the Coraville Public Library. Considerable parts of the series series were penned at the said Library, wherein Butler used to get in touch writer friends three times every time, courtesy of their prearranged write-ins. She is a lover of libraries and, during her schooling days wherein she served as a library page, she used to stay behind, long after the rest had gone home especially during Saturday nights.

Butler points out that The Haunted Library Series differs from suchlike books categorized as paranormal. This is because the types of ghosts contained therein are merely transparent human beings, albeit possessing superpowers. What’s more, the ghosts are not scary as such; in fact, they are friendly.

The Haunted Library Series: Basic Information
Ghostwriting projects aside, The Haunted Library Series is the second series of books authored by Dori Hillestad Butler–the other one is titled The Buddy File Series. Basically, The Haunted Library Series revolves around a living girl and a ghost boy whose family is missing; the two team up and start unraveling a series of paranormal mysteries.

Currently, there are ten books in The Haunted Library Series. The first book in that series has four editions. And the first edition was originally published in August 2014, titled The Haunted Library (the series is named after this book), and the book is shelved under chapter books, middle-grade books, mystery, paranormal, and juvenile literature genres.

Another early book in The Haunted Library Series is titled The Ghost in the Attic. This is the second book in that series. Similarly, it has four editions and the first edition was initially published in August 2014.

The Haunted Library Series: Protagonists and their Traits
The featured protagonists in The Haunted Library Series are Claire and Kaz. Meet protagonists Claire and Kaz. Claire, who is a girl, is a real-life person; she lives in a library, alongside her grandmother Karen who operates it. Unlike many other people and contrary to the ghosts’ belief, Claire has the power to see and communicate with ghosts. Claire’s parents operate a family-owned detective agency; the girl has sleuthing ambitions too and, thus, starts noting the ghosts that she has chanced upon.

Kaz is a young ghost who has since lost his beloved ghost family members (parents and siblings Finn and Kosmo) after a terrific wind scatters them. Unlike other ghosts which are generally scary, Kaz is friendly and lovable. Kaz’s free time is spent with his dog. Kaz, who strikes an unseemly friendship with Claire instantly, refers Claire to as a solid person (implying she isn’t a ghost like Kaz). Both Kaz are witty, courageous, and achievers.

The Haunted Library Series: Plots in the First Two Books
Kaz is separated from his family after a fateful event. He gets blown away for long distances and ends up at the library wherein Claire lives. The two strike a friendship and Claire helps Kaz trace his missing family. They team up with an elderly ghost resident of the library named Beckett.

In the second book, The Ghost in the Attic, Kaz and Claire team up yet again and start sleuthing a ghost that has been reportedly sighted in an attic located in a neighbor’s house. They are assisted by Grandmother Karen, and soon discover that the seemingly spooky incident is actually nothing to write home about.

The Haunted Library Series: Awards
Prolific scribbler Dori Hillestad Butler has bagged and been shortlisted for different literary awards. For instance, in 2011, she bagged the prestigious Edgar Award, in the Best Juvenile category, by virtue of the 2011 book titled The Case of the Lost Boy. This book has also been shortlisted for the Monarch Award (in 2012), Concheco Readers’ Award (in the 2010/2011 period), the 2011/2012 Texas Bluebonnet Award, and, in the 2011/2012 time-frame, nominated for the Goldfinch Award.

By the same token, in 1999, M is for Minnesota, which was published in 1998, got nominated twice: Minnesota Book Award plus Northern Minnesota Award. Butler’s 1999 book titled Trading Places with Tank bagged the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award in 2006. To sum it up, Butler has bagged many major literary awards and been nominated for many others, at times concurrently.

The Haunted Library Series: Best Three Books
The best books in The Haunted Library are the first three. The first one is The Haunted Library series. The second one is The Ghost in the Attic. These two are discussed above. The third one is called The Ghost Backstage. This is the third book in The Haunted Library series and was first published in 2014. Kaz and Claire have been operating a successful detective agency. A ghost, which is seemingly Kaz’s mother, is reportedly sighted backstage at their school theater during school play rehearsals. Kaz and Claire start sleuthing.

Other Books You May Like
Readers who enjoyed the books authored by Dori Hillestad Butler also enjoyed these series of books. The first one is Chicken Squad series authored by Doreen Cronin. These revolves around the adventures and misadventures of a team of detectives, comprising of chicks. The second one is called Bink & Gollie series penned by Kate DiCamillo. It features protagonists Bink and Gollie, two young girls; they are adventurous and uncontrollable bosom friends. Another one is titled Eerie Elementary series penned by Jack Chabert. This literary series features protagonist Sam Graves in a spooky elementary school.