LITTLE GHOST HOUSE HUNTS

Must Little Ghost abandon his rambunctious family of 10 to find peace?

Little Ghost feels squeezed. He finds his family’s high-ceilinged attic home too noisy—there’s nowhere he can relax and read his scary stories! Venturing out to haunt alternative quarters on October 31, Little Ghost surprisingly seems to have little notion of what Halloween entails. As he knocks on doors, he’s mistaken for a costume-clad child; he rejects offers of candy and is scared off by rowdy dogs, rude neighbors, and even a black cat. No house seems right until he spots a classic old mansion on a hill. The old woman who lives there doesn’t mind his huffiness, and he makes himself at home. Peace at last. Days later, when he’s become “lonely for his loud family,” they suddenly show up for a happy reunion and move in. They’re noisier than ever, but now Little Ghost has enough space “to practice his BOOOOOOS!” and read the tales he loves. This yarn is wispier than a specter, though the smiling, ectoplasmic figures in pastel settings are pleasant to look at. Should readers sharing close quarters with family conclude that moving to a larger space is the answer? Family can be difficult, but there’s no room for compromise, thoughtfulness, or creative solutions here. Human characters are diverse; the old woman is tan-skinned.

An overly tight real estate crunch is too simplistically solved.