A feast for the senses with a sweet message of sharing.
A gluttonous ghost seeking satiety finds a friend.
An enormous appetite haunts Gwei, a blue ghost. He eschews cemetery visitors’ pedestrian offerings—a pile of oranges disappoints; a bowl of rice is beneath him. When the Ghost Festival arrives, he floats into the human world to fill his spectral belly with earthly delights—whole fish, hand-pulled noodles, custard tarts. But no matter how much he consumes or hoards in his takeaway pouch, he still feels empty. When a small orange ghost starts tailing him, begging for a bite, he hesitates. But ultimately he acquiesces and allows the newcomer to share his bounty; in doing so, he’s finally able to feel satisfied by his feasting. The story simply expresses the ideas that pleasures are best enjoyed in company and that giving can be a gift to the giver. Paired with this message are sumptuous visuals of mouthwatering Chinese cuisine, a buzzing night market, and a river flowing with ceremonial lanterns floating souls to the afterlife. Both story and illustrations are more culturally suggestive than specific and could serve as an introduction to the autumn holiday for readers new to Chinese traditions. This book could easily be discussed in tandem with other ancestor-focused holidays like the Day of the Dead. Illustrated backmatter dives deeper into Ghost Festival celebrations and the spectral pantheon of Chinese folklore.
A feast for the senses with a sweet message of sharing. (glossary, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9798217002795
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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