Barbara Cantini

With aspects reminiscent of The Addams Family, this adventure draws in with a fun sense of creepy and friendship, which looks beyond the surface.

Ghoulia is excited about the upcoming Halloween parade, since it's the one time each year that she and her family can join the rest of the residents of the town and not be spotted as monsters. While getting ready for the big day, she stumbles across a memory box. Inside, there are photos and letters from her parents, who had disappeared years ago. show more One postcard has a photo of the ship they were last seen on, and Ghoulia realizes that she might be able to find them with this new clue. With her two human friends, she heads to the museum to see which ship it was and is very surprised to discover that it was the Titanic. Ghoulia is sure that her now zombie parents are lost on the bottom of the ocean and has to think of a way to find them and bring them home.

Ghoulia is a zombie to want to be friends with, but then, her entire family is kind, quirky, and eventful. There's never a dull moment, and they help each other out where they can. Her two friends are also golden and offer a little solid grounding in her otherwise crazy world. It's easy to sympathize with her as she misses her parents and readers will hope she finds a way to find them, too. While this emotional end makes everyone likeable, it's the oddities which really make every moment shine. From strange aunts and uncles to visiting dogs and bats with special talents, it's impossible to guess what everyone is up to, and each moment delights.

The pages are covered with detailed and bright illustrations, giving something to discover with every glance. There are even little phrases scribbled on the illustrations to point out certain items, which are curious and put a smile on the face. The text is clearly printed either around the illustrations or in them. These are just right for those readers, who are sure of their words but need extra practice before diving into longer tales. It does make a nice read-aloud, but this is the type of book, which will have readers eager to get to the point that they can pick it up on their own. At the end of the book, there are directions on how reader scan create their own memory boxes, which adds a nice touch.

Each scene offers positive moments, and even when the monsterly aspects come out, it is always mixed with humor and fun. It will be fun to see what other adventures lie in store for this bunch. show less

Periodically, I get kids asking for "really scary" easy books. This is really tricky, because first their parents/caregivers aren't usually keen on "really scary" books for young kids and secondly it's hard to find scary books at an easy reader or beginning chapter level. Even if you find some, it's completely subjective as to what "really scary" means! So will this one work? I have no idea.

Ghoulia lives a perfectly normal life in Crumbling Manor. A perfectly normal life if you're a zombie, show more that is. She has her dog, Tragedy, who is maybe a ghost and maybe not, her Auntie Departed, her Grandad Coffin... but sometimes she thinks it might be fun to go down to the village and have friends. Her Auntie thinks it will be dangerous and forbids her from leaving the walled manor, but then Ghoulia hears about a wonderful tradition called Halloween... maybe there's one night she can play with human children if she's careful? But what will happen if she forgets to keep up her disguise?

Deliciously creepy illustrations, tinged in orange, red, green, and brown show a sweet little girl (with the occasional lost limb), red-eyed dog, and all the ghastly accoutrements of a traditional haunted English manor. This is an illustrated chapter book, as opposed to a graphic novel. Each page is heavily illustrated and there are humorous captions, but the text is in fairly dense paragraphs and a smaller font than I look for in beginning chapters. It's definitely a very British creepy story, reminding me of Eva Ibbotson's Dahlesque ghost tales.

Verdict: This is going to be too challenging for most of the kids who want easy readers and even a lot of beginning chapter readers; while the zombie and ghosts are gross, they're not exactly scary as far as monsters or or things that go bump in the night. I'll try this one out in book club and see if it satisfies the creepy desires of my young readers.

ISBN: 9781419732935; Published August 2018 by Abrams; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Ghoulia is a lonely little zombie girl who loves the color purple, playing dress up, and spending time with her dog, Tragedy. What she really wants, however, is to play with the village kids. Her aunt has forbidden her from being seen by others, afraid that they'll be chased from their home. Then Ghoulia finds out about Halloween and comes up with the perfect plan to spend time with the village kids and maybe even make some friends, without her aunt finding out or anybody learning that she's show more a zombie.

I loved the artwork - great Addams family and Tim Burton vibes. Tragedy instantly made me think of The Nightmare Before Christmas' Zero, even though their designs were pretty different.

This was very much a "friendly zombie" sort of book - there was no mention of zombies eating brains, and the only difference it seemed to make was that Ghoulia looked different and could detach her body parts and then sew them back together.

I really enjoyed this, even though it felt like the ending came way too easily. It's a children's book, though, so I just accepted it.

Extras:

Instructions to help kids dress up like Ghoulia (or, more accurately, to help their parents help them), recipes for "Ghoulia's Purple Punch" and "Uncle Misfortune's Mud Mix," and four pages of "one of these pictures is different" activities.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Ghoulia is a little zombie girl who lives in a haunted manor. Although she has her dog to play with, she longs to play with children her own age. Unfortunately, her dear Auntie Departed has warned her many times to hide from the local children in the village. But Ghoulia is not your ordinary little zombie girl. When she learns about Halloween, she comes up with a plan to join in the fun. Will it work? Or will Auntie Departed foil her plans? Check out this first book in a fun new series to show more find out.

The Bottom Line: Ghoulia just wants to be ordinary, and tries very hard to fit in. When she finally learns to be herself, she discovers that making friends isn't scary at all. Recommended for kids in grade school, who enjoy creepy little tales of friendship.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. show less