The Ghosts Go Haunting

July 28, 2014
Grinning, goofy ghosts, witches, spiders, and more descend on an unsuspecting elementary school, their shenanigans described in a twist on the familiar children’s song “The Ants Go Marching.” Ketteman makes her way from the ghosts of the title to a horde of blue-skinned zombies that “go stumbling ten by ten.” Some of the verses can be a mouthful: “The monsters go stomping five by five./ They catch the computer repairman alive,/ and they take him stomping/ all over the school/ for some Hal-lo-ween fun./ Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!” Supplying crisply rendered illustrations, Record clearly had fun creating supernatural mayhem—one purple goblin has stamped itself with an “overdue” stamp in the library, and the illustrator includes a visual joke in a spread starring eight mummies, drawing a connection between their wrappings and rolls of toilet paper scattered on the bathroom floor. Ages 4–7. Illustrator’s agent: Shannon Associates.