Shaky rhyme and illogic earn this ghost story a boo.
What’s a ghost to do when her usual haunting ground is slated for demolition?
A ghostly apparition’s normal haunt, a multistory rural library, is currently closed and will be knocked down for reasons unknown. The spirit, who presents as White, is out of sorts until she makes an unlikely ally in a young girl who isn’t frightened of the ghost and wants to save the building. The girl, who has light tan skin and brown hair, works with the Lady to devise a series of plans that will draw attention to the library, including stacking up a winding line of books and then toppling them like dominoes, creating a spectacular slide from unused shelving, and holding ghost-story–telling sessions. Their work pays off, leaving everyone happy. Backmatter connects the story to the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana, and while the book will most likely be haunting the shelves of Willard for many years to come, it most likely will gather dust elsewhere. The internal logic of the story will have astute readers scratching their heads: Can the girl see the ghost but no one else can? Why are the construction workers who are tasked with demolition terrified of the ghost while other people are not? It’s all related in rhyming couplets that strain for scansion. The illustrations do a lot of heavy lifting, giving the book heaps of visual appeal, but that may not be enough. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Shaky rhyme and illogic earn this ghost story a boo. (author’s note, resources) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: March 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1102-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A cutely grotesque tale with thrills and heart.
A stitched-together creature discovers his purpose.
Fulbert Freakfinder’s Traveling Carnival of Unnatural Wonders has arrived in the village of Grubbers Nubbin, but the show doesn’t wow the jaded audience. Suddenly, howls fill the air, sending the villagers scurrying indoors, and Freakfinder follows the sounds to a dark castle on a hill. Meanwhile, in the castle, Stitch Head, the first creation of Mad Professor Erasmus, hides in the rafters, forgotten for decades, watching his maker animate yet another almost-alive creature. As with past endeavors, Stitch Head is prepared to stop this new creation from bringing harm to the village—and to keep the villagers from destroying the castle in revenge. Freakfinder soon arrives to find new wonders for his carnival, and Stitch Head must decide if he wants to find fame with the carnival or take a chance at new friendships in the castle where he’s lived a lonely life protecting the best friend who forgot him. Young readers looking to move beyond early chapter books will enjoy this silly, creepy story, while older readers will recognize the deeper themes of loneliness, friendship, being forgotten, and looking beyond the surface to discover that the real monsters are sometimes human. Reminiscent of Edward Gorey’s and Charles Addams’ art, the dynamic black-and white illustrations convey characters’ emotions and offer fun details. Human characters are pale-skinned in Williamson’s art.
A cutely grotesque tale with thrills and heart. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781664340626
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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