The Hungry Ghost of Rue Orleans

August 1, 2011

An enjoyable New Orleans tale featuring a most un-frightening ghost.

Fred has the perfect life, for a ghost. He putters around his dusty, dreary, dilapidated New Orleans home, happy with the company of one small cactus. But suddenly, two strangers—a man named Pierre and his daughter Marie—arrive and begin renovations in earnest. They turn the old house into a spic-and-span restaurant ready to serve up fine Cajun and Creole fare. Once the first guests have arrived, Fred tries to drive them away, putting on his most terrible ghostly show, moaning, wailing and tossing food about. To his great disappointment, the diners are not scared off. In fact, they begin to cheer and proclaim the haunted restaurant a resounding success. Frustrated, Fred decides to give up and vacate his home, but Pierre and Marie think the house is big enough to share. Pierre whips up some Powdered Ghost Puffs, much like beignets, for Fred while Maria prepares a special room for him, complete with leaks, dust and squeaky floors. And they live—or at least exist—happily ever after. The interplay among the characters is great: When Marie spots Fred sadly leaving and asks if he is the ghost, he responds, "What did you expect?... A floating sheet?" Castelao's illustrations have an ethereal, quirky quality that complements the story, and the details she includes help anchor its New Orleans setting.

Pair with Cambria Evans' Bone Soup (2008) or  Kazuno Kahora's Ghosts in the House! (2008) for some fantastic, not-so-scary ghostly fun. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-Fred the ghost is very happy haunting the leaky, dusty, rundown house on Rue Orleans until Pierre and his daughter, Marie, fix up the place and turn it into a jazzy-snazzy restaurant offering gumbo, crawfish, red beans, and rice. Reluctantly deciding to move because of all the "clean and gleam and shine," Fred stumbles onto a powerful reason for staying: Pierre's delicious Powdered Ghost Puffs-if only the house were as ghostly as before, with leaks and creaks and broken doors. Fortunately, Marie comes up with a satisfactory solution and all ends well. The painterly illustrations, rich in color and detail, are reminiscent of Don Wood's work in King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (Harcourt, 1985), with reds, purples, and gold-browns, conveying the atmosphere of the old house and the New Orleans setting perfectly. A good story for both storytime and a one-on-one read.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Grades K-2 Fred the ghost is enjoying a very happy life-after-death in an appropriately spooky home in New Orleans until Pierre and his daughter, Marie, move in and turn the place into a restaurant. Hating the changes and preferring to be left alone, Fred strategizes about how to scare the new inhabitants and their customers away. Unfortunately for Fred, things that go bump in the night only end up heightening diners' experiences, and Fred admits defeat and heads for the door. Luckily, Marie discovers him on his way out, and her welcoming ingenuity, not to mention some beignet-like Powdered Ghost Puffs, convinces him to stay, and with the humans' delicious Cajun and Creole cuisine and Fred's friendly presence, the place soon becomes a jazzy-snazzy, sweet-and-spicy success. Atmospheric and fun, Castelao's hazy mixed-media illustrations, which have a somewhat Disney-movie-still quality to them, evoke the feeling of a steamy day in NOLA, and the text, with its pacing and patterns, is ideal for letting the reading aloud roll.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)