No Such Thing

K-Gr 2—Georgia knows there are no such thing as ghosts, even during this spooky time of year (October). When she notices things that are out of place, missing, or broken, she cleverly works out who the culprit is—the cat, the dog, her little brother, a spider, etc. Unfortunately, the illustrations belie her certainty that there are no such thing as ghosts. Each image has a little guilty ghost hidden within, and finding them ranges from super easy to rather tricky. At the end, everyone (except Georgia) gets a good look when the living room is transformed into a ghost-filled Halloween party. The text has some Briticisms (pinched, torch light) and some challenging vocabulary (whilst, pilfered, deduced, sleuth) that can either enrich or distract from the story, depending on the audience. The rhyme scheme struggles at times but manages to pull through in the end. The retro-style illustrations, featuring muted pink, blue and golds, are spot-on. Kids will have a good time being in on the joke and looking for all the hidden (and not so hidden) ghosts.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH