LITTLE GHOUL GOES TO SCHOOL

Little Ghoul is nervous for her first day of school: What if everything is nice?

Her mother assures her little green daughter that everything and everyone will be perfectly awful. But when she wakes up, the weather is sunny and warm, not rainy and cold as she had hoped. The bus driver is smiling and kind instead of terrifying. The principal welcomes everyone with a smile. And it is all downhill from there: Nothing is as horrible as she had hoped. Finally, a boy actually shakes her hand and asks to be friends, sending Little Ghoul screaming. Thankfully, Little Ghoul wakes up to find that this awful experience was just a nightmare. As her mom sends her off, the weather is indeed cold and rainy. Her teacher is “hideous,” lunch is “repulsive,” and the librarian, the same creepy Ms. Shelley as in her dream, lets her know that “everything [will] be all right.” Little Ghoul’s fears, loves, and habits will induce many grossed-out giggles, and the story may serve as a clever anxiety-reducing tale for little ones who are nervous about starting school themselves. The illustrations are as entertaining as the text, adding a layer of humor with the reversal of what’s delightful and what’s fearful in the perspective of this oddly endearing little monster. The children and teachers in Little Ghoul’s nightmare are racially diverse humans; with the exception of Ms. Shelley, a woman of color, her waking reality is populated by (not-too-scary) monsters. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An adorably soothing introduction to the potential terrors of school.