GHOST IN THE HOUSE

Counting to five and back provides the underlying structure of Paquette’s innocuous ghost tale that challenges the preschool set to guess what spooky creature makes each sound.

A friendly ghost in pale blue reveals himself after shouting “Boo!” At first he believes he is all alone until “he goes slip-slide / with a swoop and a glide / Until he hears… / A GROAN!” On the far right side of the facing page is a glimpse of the eyes of a figure and his bandaged hand. Astute readers will not have too much of a challenge guessing the mummy, monster, skeleton and witch from the visual hints that follow. Once the five creepy buddies are together, they get a bit of a shock when “a sudden FLASH / Makes them topple and crash, / And suddenly they hear… / ‘WHO’S THERE?’ ” In an amusing though not original twist, the spooks are the ones frightened away and run from the innocuous little boy: “Five, four, three, two, one…!” Record creates the benign characters digitally, and the spreads all appear to have the textured yet uncluttered look of collage.

Although not particularly memorable, this slip of a story offers mild entertainment for the youngest readers.