Leo: A Ghost Story

Product Information

D’une plume tout en fine sensibilité, Mac Barnett sait tricoter une adorable vérité entre les oeillères du réel. Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson create such a unique little story and empathetic characters, that I feel like children would get heavily invested in this picture book as well, and outwardly emote in reaction to the story as it goes. From the brilliant author of Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole comes this sweet story of a friendship that goes beyond the land of the living.

Everyone else seems to like this book though, so I sincerely hope Barnett and Robinson work together again and try to top this effort. At some point, my wife made a comment about the quality of my driving,and the danger that I was putting our guest in.I highly recommend this book if you are feeling slightly down in some way, as it will definitley make you feel joyful feelings. It taps into underlying melancholy of Leo’s situation: Leo, of course, is a ghost who haunts a house until its new inhabitants make it clear that they have no interest in sharing the space with him. I also wondered if the thwarted robbery could have been more drawn out and suspenseful, but it was managed well enough. Especially as we start up a new school year, Leo the ghost is a great example of finding friends, both real and imaginary. Last year, after our yearly author visit, I was driving through downtown Montgomery to have dinner with my wife (in the passenger seat) and Mac Barnett ( in the back seat).

But luckily, there's Jane, our plucky heroine, who can see Leo when others can't and believes him to be her imaginary friend.

We're not sure how long Leo wanders, but he is a lonely ghost in a foreign world, for we find out that his town has changed considerably since Leo became a ghost. the book emphasizes a certain sweetness with Barnett's stripped down prose and Christian Robinson's adorable illustrations. Hoping to ingratiate himself with these new housemates, Leo prepared them mint tea and honey toast, only to unintentionally terrify them with his actions. Leo the ghost lived a life of quiet solitude in an abandoned house on the edge of the city, until the day a new family moved in.

Your reviews are noticed and appreciated, and, even though I keep up with kids lit, it's unlikely I would have found this on my own! So the ghost boy makes the sad decision to relocate, and finds—and then saves—a new friend in the process. In any case, this was a sweet tale made all the better by Robinson's illustrations, done in acrylic paint and cut-out paper, in varying shades of blue, brown and black.The plot lost me when a burglar was tossed in from nowhere to create some artificial action, drama, and resolution. I read it together with two other titles featuring imaginary friends - The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and Imaginary Fred - and was struck by the fact that all three books address the longing for connection, in their diverse ways. Delighted to have finally found a friend, Leo is torn - should he tell Jane that he is not what she thinks, and risk losing her? What I love about this is Leo gave up his home and everything he loved so that this family would be comfortable in his own house.