Shelf Awareness--There's a Ghost in this House

PB Review: There's a Ghost in this House

There's a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel Books, 80p., ages 4-8, 9780593466186)

There's a Ghost in this House is a treasure of a picture book that invites readers to turn semi-transparent overlays to reveal a "Fraid of Ghosts" ("the collective noun for a group of ghosts") all hiding in plain sight.

A child with green skin and blue hair invites readers to come into their home and asks for help with a problem. Though they've heard "there's a GHOST in this house," they have yet to find one. They've been told ghosts are "white with holes for eyes," but these particular spirits remain "very hard to see." As the child plays tour guide around the house, readers will spy the adorable apparitions everywhere: on the stairs, behind the couch, atop the chandelier, in the attic. Cleverly used vellum sheets are included after almost every page turn so that, once the sheets are flipped, ghosts appear! Although the narrator is "not even sure what a ghost looks like," readers will have no trouble describing these mischievous beings.

The illustrations are splendid. Jeffers (A Child of Books; Here We Are) chose images from "old architectural reference books and furniture catalogues" and used "digital compositing magic" finished with "a bit of paint and a belief in ghosts" to compose his slightly spooky home. His sense of humor is spot on, and the joke refuses to get old. Even the ghosts are laughing along! Although the oblivious tour guide may never find one, readers will have plenty of fun locating the playful spirits inhabiting these pages. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger and children's book author.

Discover: In this standout picture book, a child invites readers into their haunted home and asks for help finding ghosts.