Use your most ghostly voice to read the following . . .
O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O
O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O
O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O
O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O
o
o
o
o
BOO!
Welcome to Perfect Picture Boo Friday! Actually it’s Perfect Picture Book Friday :-), but I’m trying to set a mood here!
Don’t be scared, but I have a spooky pick for today. And my pick should be in your house. Because it is …….
GHOST IN THE HOUSE
Written by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Illustrated by Adam Record
Themes: Counting, Rhyme, Language Fun, Holiday
Ages: 3-7
Synopsis: When a little ghost goes slip-sliding down the hallway, he suddenly hears…a groan! Turns out it’s only a friendly mummy, who shuffles along with the ghost, until they encounter…a monster! As the cautious explorers continue, they find a surprise at every turn — and add another adorably ghoulish friend to the count. But you’ll never guess who is the scariest creature in the house!
Boo! Watch out for this rollicking, cumulative counting book for a Halloween treat that’s more playful than scary.
Opening: There’s a ghost in the house,
In the creepy haunted house,
On this dark, spooky night, all alone.
And he goes slip-slide
With a swoop and a glide
Until suddenly he hears . . .
A GROAN!
Resources: I don’t think it will give anything away to tell you about the characters that appear in the story-a ghost, a mummy, a monster, a skeleton, a witch, and a child. I have crafts to go along with each. HERE is the cutest Ghostly Ghoul Wreath made with tissues and a few other items. The wreath is adorable, but you could also make individual ghosts. And click HERE to have a look at these paper towel mummies. HERE are footprint monsters that are too adorable to miss! HERE are Q-tip skeletons. And HERE are handprint witches. Parents could help young children make these at home. The child/children could hold up the characters as they appear in the story and pretend that they are the child in the story. The same thing could be done in the classroom, or the teacher could divide the class into five groups (ghosts, mummies, monsters, skeletons, witches), and each group would make and represent a character in the story.
Why I Like This Book: I love the month of October. Crisp mornings, colorful foliage, cups of pumpkin spice coffee, and of course . . .
Halloween picture books! This is a spooktacular (sorry, couldn’t resist) Halloween picture book! And it’s rhyming! Those of you who drop by often know that I LOVE rhyming picture books and this one is so much fun! The language! Oh the language! I just love, “he goes slip-slide with a swoop and a glide”! Oh.my.ghostness! Isn’t that too cute? Can’t you just see the ghost ghosting along? And the too-cute-to-be-scary illustrations are especially appealing. I rarely think of hugging a ghost or a mummy or a monster or a skeleton or a witch, but I’m telling you, if these little characters were haunting my house, I’d insist on a group hug 🙂 So float on down to the bookstore or to your library and haunt the salesperson or librarian until they bring you GHOST IN THE HOUSE!
Susanna Leonard Hill is the host of Perfect Picture Book Friday. Check out today’s links on her blog. She has compiled a categorized list of the books that have been reviewed on other Fridays. It’s an incredible resource for parents and teachers. For me as a writer, it has been a way to build my library list each week. To access the list, click HERE.
Oh, this one sounds great. I’m going to have to find it and have a look see for myself. I also love rhyming books!
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I hope you find it, Janet. it’s a goodie!
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Awesome review! I love the inter-activeness! 😉
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Thanks, Erik! I appreciate you stopping by!
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I’ve been reading a lot of Halloween-themed books recently. I will have to check this one out. Thanks for the review.
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Aren’t the Halloween ones fun? I have several on hold. I may not get to read them until after Halloween, but it will be fun to study them.
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Eeeeek! another ghost book! And I have just watched Casper on tv tonight *headdesk* 🙂 Your sense of humour make this an awesome review. How can anyone not want to read this story! 🙂 Great Penny!
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This one won’t make you Eeeeek! too loudly, I promise!
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I never thought I would see an adorable ghost, but the cover says it all. You put tons of work into the craft projects. Good for you, Penny!
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Thanks, Jarm. I have to say I didn’t make any of the crafts. I just found them on Pinterest! I did search hard 😉
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I love the rhyming and rhythm pattern in these opening lines!
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Me too, Joanna. They draw you right into the story.
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I can do that arrroooooooooooo! pretty good! That little ghost doesn’t scare me too much. I’ll have to look for this one! Thanks!
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You are very good at arrrooooooooooooooooooooooo, Rhythm! Do you have a bit of ghost in that cute little doggy voice?
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This IS a fun book. Thanks. And I love your various monster crafts. What a good idea!
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I had so much fun looking at the Halloween crafts on Pinterest! I had to make myself leave and finish this post! Thanks for coming by, Joanne!
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Thanks for introducing me to a new illustrator, Penny. And the footprint monsters are the coolest!!!
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I love the footprint monsters! Kids would have so much fun making those! And happy to introduce you to a new illustrator 🙂
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So would I!
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Me too!
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You’ve definitely put me in the Halloweenie mood with this review. Love all those oooooooooos at the beginning of the post. Looks like a cute book :).
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Glad I’ve gotten you in the mood! Thanks for coming by! I didn’t know if you would leave your place at all today with Colin hanging around over there 🙂
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I loved your poem and your very clever and creative review of the book. What a great find. I haven’t read the book, but I can guess who is the scariest creature in the house. Kids will love this! Great activities.
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Thanks, Pat! The activities are great, aren’t they. So many fun things for Halloween!
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I had fun setting the stage with your Oooos! Feeling truly Halloween-y now and ready to read this new title. 🙂
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You must have read in your most ghostly voice, Wendy! It really does make a person feel truly Halloween-y!
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Great Halloween read Penny!
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Thanks, Catherine! Glad yooooooooooooooooo came by 😉
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I”m definitely putting this book on hold. Like I told Erik I havn’t seen many Halloween books out there. My Library did not have a display and I really missed it. I Love the sound of this book so fun and scary in a good way. I agree with you about the adorable clarity in the language and will enjoy it all the more for your bringing it to my attention. 🙂
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I put Erik’s pick on hold! Halloween books are just so fun! I’m sure you’ll love it, Clar.
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Penny, this is my favorite line in your review: “Oh.my.ghostness!” I KNOW you had to snicker to yourself (proudly) when you wrote that one! I read GHOST IN THE HOUSE when it first came out. It is written by my amazing agent Joan Paquette. As always, when I read an outstanding picture book, I learned a few things. Oooooooooooooooooooh!
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Oh.my.ghostness! You have me pegged, Carole. I was snickering, and I was snickering proudly! It’s my favorite line, too! And as soon as it floated its way into my brain I knew I had to use it!
Yes! Your agent is amazing!
And Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo to yooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
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Penny, Great review and poem! A perfect selection for Halloween. Looks super, duper cute–I mean super scary! 🙂
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Thanks, Robin. It is super, duper cute. And I promise you’ll still be able to sleep at night 😉
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