Gus Was a Friendly Ghost

Gus the Friendly Ghost lived in an old house in the country. There were apple trees and lilacs in the yard and, in the summer, the Scott family lived there, too.

Gus liked to rattle and clank in the attic, but since the Scotts did not believe in ghosts, they did not believe in Gus. But, when he rattled and clanked, they told all their friends, “We’ve got a ghost!”

But when autumn arrived, the Scott family packed up and left the old country house. Gus had nothing to do; he was lonely. Gus went for a walk. He met Mouse, who was freezing, and he invited him to come live in the old country house. Gus was happy to have Mouse staying in the house; he learned to make all sorts of cheese dishes because, even though ghosts never get hungry, show more Mouse was always hungry, and Gus wanted him to be happy.

Gus read to Mouse by the light of the fire. Sometimes the two friends played checkers. They popped corn. And, one day, the snow melted, the sun grew warm. Buds grew on the apple tree and the lilacs bloomed. And, one day, a car drove into the yard. The Scott family was back!

What will happen when they find Mouse [and Gus] living in the house?

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This edition, an offering from the Weekly Reader Children’s Book Club, was re-issued by Weekly Reader in 2002 and by Purple House Press in 2014. The reading age for the book is five and six years old, grade levels preschool through third.

A beloved childhood favorite, this delightful tale of friendship is sure to become a much-loved story for a new generation of young readers. The charming illustrations . . . purple, red, black, and white . . . are a perfect accompaniment to the sweet tale of Gus and Mouse and the Scott family. It’s an engaging story for adults to share with their young readers; the life lessons of friendship, respect, acceptance, and selflessness are both relevant and heartwarming. Parents are sure to enjoy sharing this enchanting story with their young readers.

Highly recommended. show less

Gus lives in the summer home of the Scott family. They don’t believe in ghosts but they blame all the weird noises on him, and Gus loves to make his family happy. But when winter comes and Scotts are long gone, Gus is loney. He makes a new friend in Mouse. Eventually the Scott’s come back and Mouse is mean until Gus finally has enough and calls STOP. I don’t like this book. It is a one sided friendship with Gus doing everything to make Mouse happy, and Mouse being a pill. Let’s just say, I fully understand why this book is out of print.

★★★★★Gus was a Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer

This is another childhood favorite. I've had my copy since I was 3yo. My daughter continues to love it as well.

This is the story of Gus the Ghost. The homeowners don't believe in ghosts, but joke when they hear a noise, saying it was their ghost. He is sad when they leave for the winter.

He finds a mouse and lets him move in. They keep each other company. But mouse gets mad when the family comes back and Gus has to keep the peace.

This book was really cute. It was a simple styled book about a friendly ghost named Gus. He lives in the attic and makes friends with animals and people (I think there's another book where he goes to school). I liked the simple graphics and the sweet kind nature of Gus. I see it as just a circle book to read aloud to the class, not really having any specific connection to any unit. The theme it could help show to the class is kindness or maybe friendship though.

This was one of my favorites when I was small. A nice, simple story with cute illustrations. Teaches a good lesson about being friends, and also about getting along with others.

This book is about a ghost who enjoys haunting a house that a family lives in. The family does not mind the ghost. One day the family left for a long vacation and the ghost became lonely. Fortunatley, he befriends a nice mouse. Everthing is going great until the family comes back. They do not like the mouse as much as they like the ghost.
I thought this book had very creative illutrations. The pictures told the story almost as well as the words. I enjoyed this book as a child, so reading it again was fun.
It would be a good idea to make a word wall using words in this book. This would be a great book to read to children during halloween.

Gus is a friendly ghost who likes the people he lives with. When they leave for the winter, Gus invites a mouse to come live with him to keep him company, but when the family comes back for the summer, the mouse is not happy. He does everything in his power to scare the family away, but they just wont budge. When the father of the house starts putting mouse traps out, Gus knows he has to put this conflict to end. He sets things straight and the family, Gus the ghost and the mouse live happily ever after.