The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

Rating: 5 stars

This is my favorite Halloween book.  Hands-down!  Hmm...did I just say that about Room on the Broom?  Feel free to forget about that...

This book is just the right amount of spooky and funny.  The best part is that the ghosts are scared--how fun is that?  Scared ghosts?  See, you're probably cracking up already.  That's the sign of a good book.

Okay, so here's the story: Henry the ghost invites his ghost buddies over for a dinner party.  They start with juices of all different flavors--and colors.  Because they are transparent, they turn the color of the juice they drink.  My trio thought that was pretty funny--even Kiefer was chuckling at the idea of drinking spinach juice and turning green.  Pumpkin soup makes them turn orange, salmon makes them turn pink, cheese makes them turn all swiss cheesy.

"Look at us!  We're so colorful!"

The special dessert makes them disappear, and the clean-up of dinner is a silly montage of dishes seemingly carrying, washing, and drying themselves.  Hot chocolate makes them all reappear again, and they drink another glass of milk to turn a normal white.

Then Henry plays a trick on his guests--he spooks those ghosts by dressing up and shouting, "BOO!"

A perfect ending to a perfectly silly Halloween book.  Better buy this one--or you'll be on the waiting list at your library until mid-November.

The Ghosts in the Cellar by Jacques Duquennoy

The Ghosts in the Cellar by Jacques Duquennoy

Rating: 4 spooky stars

If you hand this book to Kiefer, he'll cringe away from it and say, "Cary!" and then smile at his own little joke.  Pretty funny, that kid.

And pretty cute, this book.

What kid doesn't like a what's-that-spooky-noise type of book, a mystery wrapped in a little children's book?  And when the characters are ghosts and those ghosts are scared, well...that's a little silly.  Just silly enough to get some giggles from your audience.

And that's what the story line is: four ghosts are playing cards in a castle when they hear boom after boom.  They decide to be brave and investigate (after hiding, quaking in fear, under the card table for a few minutes).  As they encounter creepy stuff--a mouse, a spider, a bat, their own reflection in a mirror, Lorelei and Ben were howling with the image of scared ghosts.

They finally find what's making the noise: a chest.  They throw it open and all yell, together, "HELP!  A GHOST!"  (More silliness!)

It's their Aunt Gigi; it's her birthday.  She's 500 years old today and wants to invite them to her party.

A cute little book, great to read to a preschool or elementary school class this Halloween!  (I like another of his ghost books, A Ghost's Dinner, even more...)