#995 – The Ghosts Go Scaring by Chrissy Bozik and Patricia Storms

The Ghosts Go Scaring
Written by Chrissy Bozik
Illustrated by Patricia Storms
Sky Pony Press 9/06/2016
978-1-5107-1228-7
24 pages Ages 3—6

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“THE GHOSTS GO SCARING SIX BY SIX, HURRAH, HURRAH [BACK COVER]

“Boo! Boo! Boo! It’s Halloween night and the ghosts are out of the shadows and ready to scare! One by one and then two by two, the ghosts float through the neighborhood having some fun. Seven by seven and eight by eight they cause a fright for everyone they meet! Count from one ghost to ten ghosts on this silly and spooky Halloween night!” [PUBLISHERWEBSITE]

“The Ghost Go Scaring can be sung—or read—to the tune of The Ants Go Marching. Watch as the ghosts multiply page after page, counting up to ten ghosts. And these are not ordinary ghosts! They are dressed up for Halloween, too. Follow the ghosts as they trick-or-treat and cause mischief along the scary-silly way.

“A perfectly booootiful Halloween read-along for all.” [PRESS RELEASE]

Review
In this not-so-scary Halloween book for young children, ghosts parade through the city on Halloween night, not even trying to scare anyone. This gaggle of ghosts knocks on doors for Halloween treats (no trick expected), dance with skeletons, learn to carve pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, and perform magic tricks for other ghosts. Beginning with one ghost, the story line then gains another ghost with each spread, until the ghosts reach ten in number, yet there are many things on each spread worth counting, allowing children to count as high as they desire.
Bozik wrote the text to the tune of The Ants Go Marching. It is possible to sing the text; I did this—the cats howled and the dog squealed (spooky, huh?), so it worked well. Still, if readers are seriously interested in singing the story, they should be prepared to speed up for line five and beyond, to keep with the regular pace of the song. There are a couple of cannot-avoid, invisible hiccups in the road. Bozik’s words work well . . . except when her words do not displace the song’s original: “Hurray, hurray!” This is an example of the gimmick becoming more important than the story—which should always be first

I like Storm’s illustrations, which children will also love. Thee happy creatures are having a great time, just what every child hopes to experience on Halloween. The original ghost from the first page looks like a clown and acts like one. In fact, every ghost has dressed up for a night on the . . . oh, they are in costume! Young children will love picking out the ghosts they like, based on their costumes. Maybe, a ghost is wearing the same costume as the child. This would greatly thrill most kids. Back to the clown. It seems he breaks the fourth wall with his bubble comments, but he is actually speaking to the other ghosts not readers.

(Kids, can you keep a secret? Good. The clown is speaking to us when he says, “We’re almost there!” So is the vampire ghost, when it winks right at us.)
The initial ghost is more of a scaredy-cat than a spooky ghost when a green-haired ghost scares clown-ghost. At the same time, a rat scares another rat. Is one group mocking the other?

“Boo!” says the smiling gray rat.
. .“Eeek!” screams the gray freaked out rat.
“Boo!” says the huge, widely grinning, green-haired, witchy-ghost.
. .“Eeeek!” says the not-really-looking-scared clown-ghost.

That’s it for spooking, making The Ghosts Go Scaring perfect for young children.

The Ghosts Go Scarring is safe for even the youngest reader/listener. Some young children are afraid of Halloween and this book might be able to sooth some of those fears. What it will not do is scare anyone. The cute, cartoonish characters are friendly, inviting, and smiling—always smiling. Nightmares will not show up after counting these see-through ghosts. Depending on your (the child’s) costume, the ghosts might faint when counted, though most would continue giggling. The story is this friendly.
The Ghosts Go Scaring is a cute ghost-counting book for young ghosts and goblins to learn their numbers and begin to read with assistance. The Ghosts Go Scaring could easily become a perennial favorite.

Note: The only real scare is the ghost living in my computer. The nasty piece of technology ghost liked shutting off the computer with me in mid-sentence, before updating the new text. So sorry this review came in late (10:50 AM instead of 2:00 AM)

Amazon—Indie Books—Apple Books—Sky Pony Press

Add The Ghosts Go Scaring to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.

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Reprinted with permission from THE GHOSTS GO SCARING © 2016 by Chrissy Bozik, Sky Pony Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publications, Illustrations © 2016 by Patricia Storms.

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Originally published © 2015 in Canada by Scholastic Canada, Ltd.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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The Ghosts Go Scaring
Written by Chrissy Bozik
Illustrated by Patricia Storms
Sky Pony Press 9/06/2016
9781510712287