SIR SIMON

A “Super Scarer / Ghostest with the mostest” (according to his business card) learns a bit about being a ghost…and about being a human.

Sir Simon has haunted all sorts of things, from a bus stop to a potato, but he’s just gotten his first haunted house assignment, which means he’ll have “Ghost chores” to do: stair creaking, toilet flushing, attic stomping, etc. But when the expected elderly couple (“PRO: Sleep all the time / CON: None!”) turn out to be a grandmother and her grandson (“KIDS / PRO: None! / CON: Too curious”), can Simon survive the kid’s inquisitiveness? If it means getting out of chores, sure. But it turns out that Chester (hysterically!) isn’t so good at ghostly chores. And when Simon feels a bit of empathy for Chester, whose parents are separated, and he voluntarily helps Chester with the boy’s chores, Simon is just as bad (and funny) at “human chores.” But both are very good at being each other’s friend. Simon is one very expressive ghost, managing with just the basic facial features and two tiny arms to convey everything from frustration to deviousness. Speech bubbles and illustrations that range from double-page spreads all the way down to vignettes—with some very funny cross-sections—help break up the somewhat lengthy tale, though there’s enough detail in the pictures (made with “Ghost toots and Photoshop”) to keep readers riveted. Chester and his grandmother both have brown skin. 

Friendship makes the chores (and everything else) more fun.