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Johnny Dixon #1
The Curse of the Blue Figurine
Johnny Dixon doesn't believe that the ghost of mad Father Baart haunts the town church. But then he takes an old scroll and a seemingly harmless figurine from the church basement, accepts a magic ring from a mysterious stranger--and is plunged into a terrifying adventure that may cost him his life.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
John Bellairs
90 books531 followers
John Bellairs
(1938–1991) was an American novelist working primarily in the Gothic genre. He is best-known for the children's classic The House with a Clock in its Walls 1973) and for the pathbreaking fantasy novel The Face in the Frost (1969). Bellairs held a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame University and a master's in English from the University of Chicago. He combined writing and teaching from 1963 to 1971, including a year at Shimer College that coincided with that school's storied Grotesque Internecine Struggle. After 1971, he took up writing as his full-time work. (from Shimer College Wiki)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
May 20, 2016
the place: a small town. the time: America during the Korean war. the hero: little Johnny Dixon, bookish and fascinated by history, a fussy boy and a lonely one - his mother having recently died and his father off to war, leaving him in the care of his grandparents. Johnny is thoughtful and curious, which leads to the problem: after he steals a quaint blue figurine from a church basement, a dark spectre from the past sets his sights on the lad, seeking to return to life through him. Bellairs tells his story in tones of rainy gray and earthy brown and shadowy black, creating an absorbingly oppressive atmosphere that mirrors Johnny's slow breakdown. a gothic tale - for the little ones! despite the darkness, Bellairs is a master at adding the light and warm touch here and there, in just the right places, just enough to make the story effectively heartwarming while avoiding anything remotely maudlin. the novel also features some of the most charming yet realistic senior citizens I've read about in a while. Johnny's special friend the professor is a predictable favorite, but I also loved grouchy Gramma and minds-his-own-business Grandpa.
it features a timeless lesson all kids everywhere should always keep in mind: if an adult is doing odd things with you and then insisting you keep it a secret... don't keep it a secret!
it features a timeless lesson all kids everywhere should always keep in mind: if an adult is doing odd things with you and then insisting you keep it a secret... don't keep it a secret!
August 27, 2022
“Nutty people don't rat on you. Nice, friendly, ordinary next-door neighbor types--they would rat on you and think nothing of it.”
John Bellairs ~~ The Curse of the Blue Figurine
The plot is simple enough, a lonely boy gets caught up in an epic magical adventure, involving a magical ring, a cursed statue, and a ghostly body thief. It's great stuff ~~ and terrifying at times. I couldn't put this down and devoured it. In the end, this was a fun, Victorian, Gothic adventure. I only wish I had gotten caught up in Johnny Dixon's world when I was a kid.
A fun read all the way around. I’m excited to go on more adventures with Johnny & the professor!
John Bellairs ~~ The Curse of the Blue Figurine
The plot is simple enough, a lonely boy gets caught up in an epic magical adventure, involving a magical ring, a cursed statue, and a ghostly body thief. It's great stuff ~~ and terrifying at times. I couldn't put this down and devoured it. In the end, this was a fun, Victorian, Gothic adventure. I only wish I had gotten caught up in Johnny Dixon's world when I was a kid.
A fun read all the way around. I’m excited to go on more adventures with Johnny & the professor!
April 3, 2018
Of all the authors who had a major impact on my psyche growing up, John Bellairs (and his frequent illustrator Edward Gorey) cannot be overstressed. His mix of children's/YA and Edwardian "uncanny horror" sounds like it should not work- and maybe to some it does not work- but it blew my mind as a kid, and still holds up on revisiting decades later. Bellairs was rarely more open in his use of M. R. James or E. F. Benson iconography than here, with Father Baart and his ornately-carved altarpiece seemingly ripped directly from a Jamesian 'sinister minister' type. Yet somehow, this mix of the old and florid with the simple and homespun doesn't jar, it clicks directly into place.
August 29, 2017
I can't believe many of these John Bellairs's books are going out of print. They are some great middle grade mystery, gothic and horror all rolled into one story. I read this for the first time and I enjoyed this little book set up in New England. Johnny find this little blue Egyptian figurine in the basement of a church one day and it starts all kinds of trouble. His cranky neighbor, professor Childermass helps him by being a friend. The end is rather thrilling. This is a quick read for middle grade literature. Find a copy and give this a read. Good stuff.
March 27, 2009
"Nutty people don't rat on you. Nice, friendly, ordinary next-door neighbor types--they would rat on you and think nothing of it."
September 5, 2007
I stumbled on this old edition (notice I didn't select the non-Gorey-illustrated edition- for shame publishers! for shame! Gorey's illustrations were as much a part of the experience as Bellairs words) in the Goodwill last season. An unfortunate head cold left me longing for simpler reading fare and Bellairs lived up to my middle school memories. A solid mystery with real characters. You better beat Summer to the old editions wherever you may find them before she snatches up every last Gorey-illustrated edition...
December 29, 2020
Re-read in 2020 for John Bellairs Month!
One of my favorites of his and a great winter and year-round read :)
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One of my favorite books by John Bellairs!
One of my favorites of his and a great winter and year-round read :)
______________
One of my favorite books by John Bellairs!
October 10, 2016
I loved every ingenious intricacy of "The House With A Clock In Its Walls", wondering why I didn't know John Bellairs as a child. Johnny Dixon's series depicts 1951 instead of 1983 but books by John, who died in 1991, are special. I hope the ones continued for him are well done. "The Curse Of The Blue Figurine" did not approach the former's mysteriousness and ostentatious wonderment. A professor friend provides eccentricity and Grampa, joviality. Johnny solely lost a Mom and has a Dad in the military, different from Lewis Barnavelt. Grama is prudish but loving and stable.
Johnny deals with a violent peer, jealous over his scholarly skill. He stops being open with his guardians, after taking a curiosity from their church's basement that might confirm the professor's tale about a priest's ghost. The metaphysical emerges slowly but was doubted most of the way through. Belated confirmation detracted the sensation of reader and protagonist landing in a wacky atmosphere of infinite possibilities. I was kept wondering when the woo-woo factors or ancient connections might take centre stage. Even though the figurine mimicked an Egyptian item, this novel never delved into that territory.
Johnny's unexplained ordeal did take a physical toll, so he and the professor share a fun mountain trip. When they reach an ill-chosen town, there is no more doubt. Tumultuous action and spookiness suddenly grow heart-thumping. John's creativity is still admirable. His less tantalizing work nonetheless merits four stars. The sequels may well build-up steam. I wonder if it was too grand a possibility to recreate Lewis Barnavelt's calibre, at least in an opening volume. I appreciate John's obvious compassion for children overcoming difficulty. In the 1970s and 1980s, his spotlights banished away loss and bullying. This story too was in the hands of a sensitive original.
Johnny deals with a violent peer, jealous over his scholarly skill. He stops being open with his guardians, after taking a curiosity from their church's basement that might confirm the professor's tale about a priest's ghost. The metaphysical emerges slowly but was doubted most of the way through. Belated confirmation detracted the sensation of reader and protagonist landing in a wacky atmosphere of infinite possibilities. I was kept wondering when the woo-woo factors or ancient connections might take centre stage. Even though the figurine mimicked an Egyptian item, this novel never delved into that territory.
Johnny's unexplained ordeal did take a physical toll, so he and the professor share a fun mountain trip. When they reach an ill-chosen town, there is no more doubt. Tumultuous action and spookiness suddenly grow heart-thumping. John's creativity is still admirable. His less tantalizing work nonetheless merits four stars. The sequels may well build-up steam. I wonder if it was too grand a possibility to recreate Lewis Barnavelt's calibre, at least in an opening volume. I appreciate John's obvious compassion for children overcoming difficulty. In the 1970s and 1980s, his spotlights banished away loss and bullying. This story too was in the hands of a sensitive original.
June 2, 2014
I was so happy to find this first book in the Johnny Dixon series at the book sale a few weeks ago. My local library has never had this book and so I have only heard about the story from his later books.
This is just a creepy ghost possession book on the surface, but Johnny and the Professor are such rich characters and we get to see the beginning of their very strange friendship developed, including the discovery that the Professor has a "fuss closet" in his house to help let off steam, and that he used to do intelligence work in the war so he knows how to sneak around tailing people :)
Reading these as an adult I notice more how much religion and prayer are a part of Johnny's daily life, and how little support a boy in that era had against bullies and the like. And of course, how much more freedom kids had to roam, and the innocent view of his relationship with the crochety old guy down the street.
A fun little adventure. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of this series.
This is just a creepy ghost possession book on the surface, but Johnny and the Professor are such rich characters and we get to see the beginning of their very strange friendship developed, including the discovery that the Professor has a "fuss closet" in his house to help let off steam, and that he used to do intelligence work in the war so he knows how to sneak around tailing people :)
Reading these as an adult I notice more how much religion and prayer are a part of Johnny's daily life, and how little support a boy in that era had against bullies and the like. And of course, how much more freedom kids had to roam, and the innocent view of his relationship with the crochety old guy down the street.
A fun little adventure. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of this series.
January 20, 2019
Bellairs is scary and yet comforting. But genuinely scary. I enjoyed these books when I was young and find them still exactly the same.
October 25, 2019
While I think that I enjoy the Lewis Barnavelt novels better, I enjoyed this novel. It has that Bellairs' quality with just enough supernatural to make it tingly fun but also great characters. I liked the church element, that made it even more spooky! I am looking forward to reading the other two in the series that were written by Bellairs.
February 28, 2024
John Bellairs was probably my favorite author as a kid. I first read this in 1996 (I remember because I was reading it when we went to the Olympics), and it scared me so bad I had nightmares. I’m no longer so easily frightened…alas!
I wish to god I could find the copy I had back then because it had plates by Edward Gorey, and this edition I have recently purchased does not, and whoever approved a reprint of this book without them should be fired.
Not to get too spoiler-y, but this book actually predicts a very great loss New Hampshire experienced exactly 20 years later. I almost wish it hadn’t been put out into the universe!
I wish to god I could find the copy I had back then because it had plates by Edward Gorey, and this edition I have recently purchased does not, and whoever approved a reprint of this book without them should be fired.
Not to get too spoiler-y, but this book actually predicts a very great loss New Hampshire experienced exactly 20 years later. I almost wish it hadn’t been put out into the universe!
November 27, 2020
There's a lot of good in John Bellalirs' writing, and this 3-star book is fine, it's just not exceptional. The ostensible protagonist has little to do, and is for the most part extremely passive. Events tend to unfold despite the main characters' actions, not because of them, and ultimately the adventure is concluded in a sudden, somewhat haphazard way.
But it's pretty much charming throughout, I love how Bellairs' always features older characters in prominent parts, it's easy to read and flows nicely, and when I was a child this would have been spooky as heck. Sometimes I end up with 3-stars as a compromise between the bits I hate and the bits I love, but this is pretty much a solid 3 all the way through: it's the nice, clean Days Inn of children's books. It wasn't the highlight of your trip, but you'd certainly stay there again.
I do want to mention, though, that there's an inconsequential passage in the book about characters meeting by a statue: then it's explained that the statue honors a white woman who killed ten Indians (apparently in retaliation for their having killed her baby, which sounds unlikely). It has nothing substantitive to do with the book, but it rather jumps out as being somewhat upsetting, and not for the reason the author intended back then. So be aware of that, and you might want to mention to young impressionable people something about how standards and mores change over time, and that the book was set in 1951 and written in 1980.)
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
But it's pretty much charming throughout, I love how Bellairs' always features older characters in prominent parts, it's easy to read and flows nicely, and when I was a child this would have been spooky as heck. Sometimes I end up with 3-stars as a compromise between the bits I hate and the bits I love, but this is pretty much a solid 3 all the way through: it's the nice, clean Days Inn of children's books. It wasn't the highlight of your trip, but you'd certainly stay there again.
I do want to mention, though, that there's an inconsequential passage in the book about characters meeting by a statue: then it's explained that the statue honors a white woman who killed ten Indians (apparently in retaliation for their having killed her baby, which sounds unlikely). It has nothing substantitive to do with the book, but it rather jumps out as being somewhat upsetting, and not for the reason the author intended back then. So be aware of that, and you might want to mention to young impressionable people something about how standards and mores change over time, and that the book was set in 1951 and written in 1980.)
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
June 4, 2016
John Bellairs is one of the authors I read as a kid who shaped me most today, and this is one of his most effective stories. It introduces us to young Johnny Dixon, an awkward and smart kid, and his new best friend, the eccentric and kindly (and foul-tempered) Professor Roderick Childermass, who become embroiled in supernatural shenanigans when Johnny is snooping around the local church basement and finds magical objects belonging to the evil ghost of the church's former priest.
Bellairs's writing is full of wonderful atmospheric details, and his characters are all intelligent people. This book, along with several other Bellairs novels, made me a lover of the horror genre, even if the scares here are relatively low-level. If you have a ten-year-old nearby who could use a spooky read, give Bellairs a try. (This is the first in one of his major series. His other series-openers are THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS and THE TREASURE OF ALPHEUS T. WINTERBORN.)
Bellairs's writing is full of wonderful atmospheric details, and his characters are all intelligent people. This book, along with several other Bellairs novels, made me a lover of the horror genre, even if the scares here are relatively low-level. If you have a ten-year-old nearby who could use a spooky read, give Bellairs a try. (This is the first in one of his major series. His other series-openers are THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS and THE TREASURE OF ALPHEUS T. WINTERBORN.)
January 14, 2009
Best Bellairs title, IMHO. Scared the pants off me and still does. A particularly deft handling of how a child experiences guilt.
February 19, 2020
Gateway horror at its best! Read these when I was a kid, and it took me years to figure out John Bellairs was the author. For my money, the Johnny Dixon series is his best work.
April 6, 2020
Good and creepy and I like how the adults didn't condescend to the kids.
January 28, 2024
A nice ghost story deeply rooted in religion and local history which added a lot of believability for me. There were some very tense moments that really drew me in towards the end.
There are a lot of similarities between the main character of this book, Jonny Dixon, and Lewis Barnavelt from House with a Clock in Its Walls. They are both a bit nerdy, struggle to stand up for themselves, come across some magical means to overcome those shortcomings, and have a close friend who is much older then them to provide wisdom and insight - I kinda like it. There's something captivating about it and, though similar, these two titles were different enough to keep me glued to the page.
There are a lot of similarities between the main character of this book, Jonny Dixon, and Lewis Barnavelt from House with a Clock in Its Walls. They are both a bit nerdy, struggle to stand up for themselves, come across some magical means to overcome those shortcomings, and have a close friend who is much older then them to provide wisdom and insight - I kinda like it. There's something captivating about it and, though similar, these two titles were different enough to keep me glued to the page.
March 18, 2024
A guy from church mentioned to me that he read these books as a kid. I was not familiar with the author who also wrote The House with a Clock in Its Walls. This is a story of a young boy who find a blue figurine in a church basement with a note that says not to remove it or you will be cursed. As you might guess, he removes it. You can read the story to see where things go.
April 26, 2019
I loved it!!! It was a great short and easy read.
March 5, 2022
I was not expecting the ending of this book at all. It’s perfectly average I suppose.
September 12, 2023
This is a book I wish I had found when I was a kid. It's intelligent and spooky, doesn't condescend to its audience or main character.
November 16, 2020
Read again for the first time in 20 years. Same chills I remember getting from Bellairs’ books as a kid.
October 16, 2014
John Bellairs' current reputation rests pretty squarely on his first YA book, THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN IT'S WALLS. It's too bad, really, because many of his later books are much more satisfying. In fact, his books would be GREAT source material for a TV series or movie series. Now that I think about it, all his books would be an excellent series to adapt into graphic novels, considering the mood and gloom that permeates his novels.
THE CURSE OF THE BLUE FIGURINE is the first of the JOHNNY DIXON books, and it's a well-written, spooky, supernatural mystery. There are some genuinely scary moments in it, and some wonderfully realized scenes and character bits. His protagonist is a 12-year-old outsider, who finds himself dealing with forces far beyond what he expected when he accidentally steals a blue figurine from the basement of a church. As usual with Bellairs books, Johnny has an adult companion to help him with his circumstances, this time in the form of an old family friend.
Highly recommended.
THE CURSE OF THE BLUE FIGURINE is the first of the JOHNNY DIXON books, and it's a well-written, spooky, supernatural mystery. There are some genuinely scary moments in it, and some wonderfully realized scenes and character bits. His protagonist is a 12-year-old outsider, who finds himself dealing with forces far beyond what he expected when he accidentally steals a blue figurine from the basement of a church. As usual with Bellairs books, Johnny has an adult companion to help him with his circumstances, this time in the form of an old family friend.
Highly recommended.
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March 22, 2016These books were my absolute favorites when I was a kid and I've recently managed to buy all the original Johnny Dixon series in their hardback editions with the Edward Gorey artwork. I'm planning on rereading all 9 this year in order (though I don't think there's a greater timeline). I won't be rating them because they were all 5 star books when I was 11.
What I love about Bellairs: he doesn't treat his reader like an idiot. He names chess strategies and antiques and ancient Egyptian curses in the same sentence. While Catholicism plays a big part in these books, it's more in the mode of "capital R Religion" than anything resembling zealotry or devotion. I wished--and still do--that I had my own Professor Childermass across the street to eat cake with, and someday my dream house will have its own Fuss Closet.
What I love about Bellairs: he doesn't treat his reader like an idiot. He names chess strategies and antiques and ancient Egyptian curses in the same sentence. While Catholicism plays a big part in these books, it's more in the mode of "capital R Religion" than anything resembling zealotry or devotion. I wished--and still do--that I had my own Professor Childermass across the street to eat cake with, and someday my dream house will have its own Fuss Closet.
December 12, 2008
I think I've saved my Bellairs obsession till last because I used to get a new book in the series every Christmas. I've mentioned in an earlier review that Johnny Dixon's my favorite character in the series, and I particularly love his story arc. Professor Childermass, his friend and eccentric neighbor, is one of my favorite characters throughout ALL of the novels, and his "fuss closet" idea was one I used myself! There's also a higher level of spiritual undertone in this series than there is in the others. Having gone to 16 years of Catholic school, many of the prayers and charms used against evil are intimately familiar to me as relics of my childhood.
September 29, 2018
3 STARS
"The professor was amazed. He acted as if Johnny had just told him that he was the pope, or the sultan of Zanzibar. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "You can read, and you like to read! Please excuse my amazement, but I have just come from visiting my sister's daughter, who lives up in New Hampshire. She has two children about your age, but they couldn't read their way through a book of cigarette papers. Which is scarcely odd, because their parents don't read anything except the phone book and the directions on spaghetti boxes. You like to read! Lord have mercy! Will wonders never cease!"
"The professor was amazed. He acted as if Johnny had just told him that he was the pope, or the sultan of Zanzibar. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "You can read, and you like to read! Please excuse my amazement, but I have just come from visiting my sister's daughter, who lives up in New Hampshire. She has two children about your age, but they couldn't read their way through a book of cigarette papers. Which is scarcely odd, because their parents don't read anything except the phone book and the directions on spaghetti boxes. You like to read! Lord have mercy! Will wonders never cease!"
June 20, 2012
I really liked this book a lot better than I thought I would. I had read A House with Clock on its Walls a few years ago but didn't like it much. But I enjoyed this one and even stayed up late to finish it. It's the first book in the Johnny Dixon series. I'm not rushing out to get the other books but I will pick one up if I find it at a garage sale and I do think I have a few other Johnny Dixons on my tbr.
February 10, 2015
This book was pure comfort food for the imagination. A delightful gothic romp through a days-gone-by childhood. Curl up in front a fire, grab a cup of good tea, and pick out a comfy wingback chair (where available).
December 27, 2015
Having read this book a few times as a youth, I find it just as exciting and creepy now. The writing is great and it is always interesting to note the struggles between good and evil, having good overcome due to the help of an unusual friendship.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews