Robie the Ghost

About this book

A GHOST WITH NOWHERE TO GOIn 1836, a ten-year-old boy named Robie went out to feed the cows and chickens during a blizzard on the Missouri Plains. He lost his grip on the guide rope, struck his head against the barn, and woke up a ghost. Before he could follow the beautiful light that came for him, a red-haired girl who looked like a pixie hurried him away, insisting the light was evil. Something about her felt wrong, so Robie slipped away and spent the next one hundred seventy-five years exploring the world alone, learning that he could think hard about a place and go there in an instant.THE BAD MAN AND HIS MONSTERSRobie has been hiding in a mountain cabin ever since a stranger nearly led him into a camp of miniature monsters who wanted to lock him in a cage. Then, by a fast-flowing river, he sees the truth. The Bad Man is a shape-changer called Bebop, and he becomes the red-haired pixie to trick children who have just died into following him instead of the light from Heaven. He and his band of monsters keep their captives in underground caves and feed off their pain. When two children, Jimmy and Sarah, escape from one of those caves, Robie knows he has to help them before the monsters find them again.A PLAN FROM HEAVENUp in Heaven, an angel named Mary has noticed that too many children who should be with Jesus are missing. Her supervising angel, Mac, sends her to Earth looking like an ordinary girl, with a daring plan and a song: "Jesus Loves Me." Mary joins Robie, Jimmy, and Sarah without revealing who she really is. Together the four friends work out how to slip into Bebop's caves while the monsters sleep, teach the captive children to jump from place to place, and gather them in a desert where the Bad Man's power cannot reach. When every child is safe, they will sing Jesus' song loud and clear and call for help.INSIDE THIS STORYAcross thirteen chapters, the rescue grows from two children into a mission that spans the planet. Readers will follow: - Robie's escape from the Bad Man and his discovery of the light he once missed- The daring rescue of Sarah and Jimmy and the safe hiding place in the mountains- New friends, new jobs, and teams sent out to search for more lost children- The freeing of a boy named ChaCha, the Big Raid, and the Final Rescue- The final mission and the way homeWHY FAMILIES WILL LOVE ITAs the foreword to parents explains, this is a story about purpose: finding your place in life and using your talents to help others. Robie, Jimmy, Sarah, and Mary discover the joy of helping others, the strength that comes from working together, and the love of a Savior who wants every child safely home with Him. It is a good-versus-evil adventure with a gentle heart, suited to young readers and to families reading together.A HERO WHO CHOOSES TO HELPRobie could have stayed hidden on his mountain forever. Instead, he crosses the river to help two frightened children he has never met, and that one brave choice begins everything. Along the way he learns that the light he missed long ago came from Heaven, that Jesus never stopped wanting him there, and that he has a part to play in bringing others home.A HOPEFUL ADVENTURERobie the Ghost is a Christian chapter-book adventure about courage, friendship, and finding the way home, a reminder that even the smallest helper has an important part to play.