Little Boo by Maddie Frost (9780063267831)

At first having a younger sibling was a lot of fun, but when Little Boo learned to crawl and then float, they became incredibly annoying! Big Boo isn’t sure what to do since Little Boo follows them everywhere. When they go to the library together, Big Boo decides to trade Little Boo for Little Howl, the younger wolf sibling. After all, Little Howl is being quiet and reading books, they have to be better than Little Boo. At first things are good, full of watching shows together, playing cards and reading books. But suddenly Little Howl is eating everything! Perhaps Little Boo wasn’t so bad after all?

Frost captures the frustration of having a pesky younger sibling perfectly in her ghostly characters. Told in a mix of prose and speech bubbles, the book has a modern lively feel. The illustrations are full of action, chomping, floating and more as the young monsters take over Big Boo’s life. Great fun for Halloween and those who enjoy monsters other times of the year. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Clarion Books.

To Catch a Ghost by Rachel Michelle Wilson (9781339031958)

Starting a new school, a girl discovers that show and tell is coming and they take it very seriously. So she has to do something incredible. Perhaps she can catch a ghost! There are steps to catching your ghost. You must look under, between and over, checking everywhere. Once you have found your ghost, it’s time to observe them so you can understand them. If all else fails, try pizza. Now it’s time to build your ghost trap! Don’t hesitate, get them! But just maybe, you might like your ghost too much to trap them for long. 

This picture book takes on the format of both a ghost-catching manual with chalkboard-like pages and also tells the story of a girl and her ghost. The clever humor of the format and the story is matched nicely with a big heartedness. The illustrations are gloriously bold, moving briskly between close ups and far off perspectives. 

A spirited look at ghost catching. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Scholastic.