Ghost in the House
Ammi-Joan Paquette
illustrated by Adam Record
Candlewick Press, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5529-7
FORMAT: Picture Book
AGES: Preschool
4 Stars

This fun counting story starts off with one ghost in the house. As the ghost moves around he hears all sorts of strange sounds from growls to shrieks. Although a bit nervous at the noise, the ghost (and soon all the other monster companions) are relieved when it turns out to be a mummy, skeleton, or whatnot. Until the end…when a boy turns out to be in the house as well. Then all the monsters run (while the text is counting backward) away from that spooky house until just the boy is left.

This is a fun story, and the illustrations are great. The ghost reminds me of the ghosts on pac-man. And the mummy almost looks like a ninja in the shadows (until you see it really is a mummy). The monster looks more like a friend to cuddle with. Needless to say these are not scary monsters, and the fact that you bounce around their story in a fun little rhyme will make them even less scary (if that is possible). And kids in my story time will just plain laugh over the fact that it is a little boy that scares all of the monsters away. This is sure to be one of my Halloween story time classic books to pull out. And I can’t wait to try it out.

What to do after reading this book:
Count a number of objects around you.
Draw a friendly monster.
Make a plan for what you would do if you saw a monster.
Talk about what you might like to dress up like for Halloween or some other occasion.
Dress up in a fun monster costume (or some other costume).
Talk about why the night or an empty house isn’t really scary.
See if you can sneak up on someone and say “BOO” or make other spooky noises.