LITTLE GHOST'S SUMMERWEEN

In a not-so-spooky sequel to Little Ghost Makes a Friend (2024), the titular spirit throws himself a birthday party.

Little Ghost and his human pal Anya are invited to celebrate their friend Elias’ birthday. But Little Ghost has never attended a party that doesn’t involve bats, candy corn, and pumpkins. He decides he’s too nervous to go, but Anya convinces him to be brave. Little Ghost loves most of it, though the camping theme gives him pause (the s’mores are very sticky), and no one can find him during hide-and-seek. With Anya’s encouragement, Little Ghost decides it’s time he celebrated his own birthday. The festivities will take place in July, but the bats, candy corn, and pumpkins he adores are all autumnal decor. What to do? By the day of the party, Little Ghost still hasn’t decided. Luckily, Anya has figured out a way to combine a summer theme with all Little Ghost’s favorite things; the result is a delightful tale that leans into the newly created real-life phenomenon of Summerween. Although the seasons have shifted since Little Ghost’s last outing, Willis Edkins expertly employs the same palette: muted greens, purples, and oranges (perhaps a little more green this time). And Little Ghost’s expressive eyebrows steal the show; myriad emotions, from anxiousness to excitement, rest on those two tiny wisps. Anya is brown-skinned, and the rest of the party-goers are a diverse bunch.

Problem-solving skills wrapped up in a sweetly supernatural shindig.