The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories

August 29, 2011
When Franny and Frankie, a pair of ghosts, ask Father Ghost to tell them scary bedtime stories, the resulting tales will leave readers in stitches. Uncle Ned, unable to scare anyone, meets a fate worse than, er, death, when he’s turned into a diaper. In another story, Cousin Nell proves less frightening than a hamburger, and the final tale’s Big Bad Granny knows just how to torment little ghosts—with kisses and hugs. Meisel’s hapless, gap-toothed ghosts and LaRochelle’s knack for pitch-perfect bedtime storytelling make these stories light on horror but heavy on laughs. Ages 6–8.

August 1, 2011

Father Ghost tackles a nightly challenge for many parents—getting their kids to go to sleep.

He agrees to tell three stories, each more scary than the last. Readers will find, however, what is frightening to ghosts is just hilarious to mere mortals. Tucked in their coffins and aglow in bright white, young Franny and Frankie stare wide-eyed at their dad as he begins the first story, "The Scary Baby." Uncle Ned is eager to terrify somebody. The easiest to scare should be a baby. But he tangles with the wrong infant and his mama...and ends up on the baby's bottom as a diaper! The second story features the Haunted Hamburger. By simply sitting on a tree stump and looking at boastful cousin Nell with "two round eyes as green as pickles,... a wide, squiggly mouth as yellow as mustard [and] wet bloody cheeks as red as ketchup," it turns her into a humbler specter. The final story tells the tale of "The Big Bad Granny," who truly horrifies with an onslaught of tickles, hugs and kisses. As fresh as LaRochelle's text is, Meisel's playfully rendered illustrations capture every ridiculous, giggle-inducing moment and amps it right up.

Share with the most sleep-resistant and squirmy kids for a surefire read-aloud romp. (Picture book. 6-8)

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

August 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-It's bedtime, and Franny and Frankie Ghost are not tired. Crossing their fingers, they blithely lie and say they will go to bed after Father Ghost tells them a story. In fact, he winds up telling them three family tales. He starts with one about Uncle Ned, whose failed attempts to scare an old man, a teenager, and a baby end in personal disaster when he becomes a diaper. While his fate is appalling to the young ghosts, the illustration of Uncle Ned covering the bottom of a toddler will strike human children as hilarious. In the title story, boastful Cousin Nell encounters a motionless, scary-looking hamburger with two round green eyes, bloody-looking cheeks, and a curvy yellow mouth. "Mommmmmmy!" she screams. Each story is slightly sillier than the previous one, culminating in Father's tale about his terrifying grandmother, who wore bright red lipstick and covered him with kisses. Still those naughty ghosts will not fall asleep, until they hear "Thump! Thump! Thump! on the stairs and laughing in the hall: Is it the Big Bad Granny come to kiss them? Too scared to find out, they jump into bed and close their eyes. Meisel's charming watercolor and ink cartoon illustrations keep the tone light and augment the tongue-in-cheek humor. Smartly written with plenty of unexpected twists, this book is sure to become a year-round bedtime favorite.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.