A light mystery for kids. Unfortunately no mystery at all for me because I happened to read the back of the book, but as my husband pointed out, they probably summarize the major plot points there for parents wondering what their kid is about to read. Kids that age (8-12) probably don't care that much about spoilers either. 
 Still, it's a fun read. It's the story of recently orphaned boy who goes to live with his uncle in a big mysterious mansion. Magic and adventure ensue. There are some jokes in there that are clearly for the adults reading this to their kids, much like the old cartoons had, and the banter between the boy's uncle and the neighbor lady is pretty cute. The illustrations by Edward Gorey are wonderful, too. 
 I'm only giving 3 stars, however, because it feels a bit dated. For example, repeated references to the protagonist's weight seemed unnecessary, since it had nothing to do with the story. Maybe calling him "fatty" was the running joke for the eight-year-old readers? Not sure something like that would fly these days unless it were a greater focus in the book. The protagonist cries a lot, too. Not that little boys shouldn't cry, but it reminded me of the whiny kids on old tv shows that cried at the drop of a hat.