Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet, not scary story of friendship and imagination.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Leo, a ghost, is happy quietly reading in an old house until a family moves in. When he decides to make them a snack, the family gets frightened and hides in the bathtub. So Leo decides he'll wander. The world of the city is loud and unwelcoming until a girl named Jane spots Leo while drawing on the sidewalk. They play Knights of the Round Table together and suddenly Leo is happy again. But Jane thinks he's just an imaginary friend instead of a real, dead ghost. How will she react when she knows the truth?
Is It Any Good?
Told from the sweet-natured perspective of a ghost boy in a bow tie, this clever picture book is as much a lovely tale of friendship as a lighthearted ghost story. It does for ghosts what Monsters, Inc. did for the reputation of closet monsters, and kids will be rooting for Leo like they did for Sully. By the end, readers will be drawn more into Jane and Leo's imaginative play and feel as Jane does: that it doesn't matter at all that Leo's a ghost.
Only the stylish illustrations, all in blue, gray, and black hues, remind readers there's anything supernatural going on in LEO: A GHOST STORY. Somehow they manage to be both ghostly and playful, just like the story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about ghosts. Why are some portrayed in stories as friendly, such as Leo, whereas most people think ghosts are scary? Do you believe in ghosts? Would you like to meet one?
Would you befriend Leo if you could see him? Or would you rather have an imaginary friend?
Why do you think Jane doesn't care that Leo's a ghost?
Book Details
- Author: Mac Barnett
- Illustrator: Christian Robinson
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Chronicle Books
- Publication date: August 25, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 5
- Number of pages: 52
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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