cover image My First Ghost

My First Ghost

Maggie Miller and Michael Leviton, illus. by Stephanie Buscema. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1949-4

“Congratulations! Your house is now officially haunted,” reads this plucky book that prepares readers to handle their ghost as if it were a new pet. Retro illustrations reminiscent of The Jetsons depict friendly ghosts with striped shirtsleeves, hats, and hair bows. Throughout, debut authors Miller and Leviton offer lots of “practical” ghost-rearing advice (“Please do not try to wash your ghost,” they write as a boy sprays his parents’ barbecue with a garden hose, the water passing right through the giggling ghost). A hip and funny take on phantom friends. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)