THERE’S A GHOST IN THIS HOUSE Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins £20, 44 pp)
THERE’S A GHOST IN THIS HOUSE
by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins £20, 44 pp)
Oliver Jeffers is more than a great storyteller and artist. He also plays with the nature and value of the book. This imaginative, funny, and clever twist on a haunted home is a perfect example of this.
A little girl invites us into her old mansion and says she thinks it’s haunted — she’s heard chains rattling — but she’s never actually seen anything.
Interspersed between each page is a tracing-paper-thin leaf which, as it’s turned over and overlaid on the previous page, reveals a series of mischievous white ghosts, sliding down banisters, hiding under beds and swinging from chandeliers.
Children will love the concept of being able to spot what the young girl can’t and Jeffers’ dryly funny visual jokes on the elusiveness of spirits finish with a cliffhanger . . . Another great winner from this creative author.
WITCH IN TRAINING Michelle Robinson Illustrated and illustrated by Briony Smith (Walker £12.99, 32 pp)
WITCH IN TRAINING
Michelle Robinson Illustrated by Briony May Smith (Walker £12.99, 32 pp)
This riotous Halloween picture book follows little Betty’s first attempt at making a magic potion — which requires almost as many ingredients as Macbeth’s witches’ brew.
‘Raindrops, moonbeams, lightning bolts’ soon progress to ‘troll hair plucked from filthy drains’ and vampire fangs as Betty and her mum whizz through the dark night on their broomsticks.
This book is a magical joy thanks to its catchy rhyme sequences and the intricate illustrations.
Also worth a look is Rita Wants A Witch, the latest in the endearing Rita series by Maire Zepf, illustrated in bold colour by Mr Ando (Graffeg £7.99), where Rita’s longing for a pointy-hatted friend to make her life easier and wreak havoc on her enemies slowly diminishes as she realises that there’s a down-side to devilment . . .
THE RED GLOVES AND OTHER STORIES Catherine Fisher (Firefly £12.99, 192 pp)
THE RED GLOVES AND OTHER STORIES
by Catherine Fisher (Firefly £12.99, 192 pp)
Catherine Fisher has made a unique niche with her Welsh magic novels and folklore novels. However, here she takes a darker approach to the spiritual world with a collection that chills the bones of older children.
The title story is truly scary. A young girl finds that the red, silky, long gloves that she bought in a junk store has menacing powers that threaten her family.
In The Hare, Owen, a young man, brings home an ancient metal disk from an archaeological dig. However, his father rescues a white injured hare who lies motionless in front their fireplace. Strange, malevolent forces are unleashed.
And the book ends with a neat twist in the tale with Ghost In The Rain, where a child’s tragic, accidental death from drowning haunts the visitors to a country house.
If you haven’t discovered Fisher’s novels yet, this is a great introduction to her vivid imagination. Ages 9-12.
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