The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe

Lovely illustrations render the coldness of winter in New England. Whenfarmer Nicholas Greebe died, it was midnight and frigidly frosty. While shaking and shivering, the next day, his relatives dug a shallow grave. One year later, the relatives came to the farm to celebrate the life of farmer Greebe. When a small dog ran outside, no one seemed to notice.

Finding the grave, and digging, soon the dog found a bone. Jumping into a nearby carriage, the dog hastily chewed his treasure. The author begins the tale of Nicholas Greebe's haunting. While floating throughout the farmhouse, he repeats

"From this night forth
I quest, I quest,
till all my bones
together rest

It takes 100 years until the bone is returned and Nicholas can then rest.

This scary tale about a ghost is an accurate example of a fairy tale because it is a story that has the implausible yet puts in a realistic setting and plot that it is highly entertaining and believable. It is a story that would not be too gory or scary for young children and has humorous text. The story was set during the dark colonial times in Massachusetts which add to the mysteriousness and spookiness of the tale. Here is a wonderful example within just the first sentence of the depth that the setting added to the story-"In Colonial times, quiet Massachusetts valleys-dark with trees, threaded with rivers, and often cloaked in fog-gave rise to thoughts of the supernatural." The setting can very easily be pictured in the minds of show more young readers.
Level: Primary show less

A delightfully creepy but not too scarey picture book to read aloud for Halloween or any time a ghost story is in order. The many full page spreads realistically depict the gloominess of rural New England in winter nights.

A longer story that's well suited to the lower primary grades during Halloween season as it's not too scary. Pretty much all Nicholas does is sit and complain that "From this night forth I quest, I quest, till all my bones together rest." Disconcerting to be sure, but not precisely threatening. S. D. Schindler's ink illustrations are full of tiny details and have a washed out palette that suits the ghostly story.

Used for Spooktacular Tons of Fun program for 2nd and 3rd graders in October 2009.