Ghosts don’t have to be scary! In fact, Mr. Brown’s
bookstore ghost is not a real ghost at all. Mr. Brown only likes three things -
ghost stories, cheese, and cats – so he decides to open a bookstore that only
sells ghost books, and he gets a cat who only eats cheese. Just like Mr. Brown, you’ll never guess what is causing the books on
his shelves to fall! This is a level 2 Puffin easy-to-read book, meaning it has
more words and longer sentences for children just learning to read. The story
is broken into chapters, providing beginning readers with a transition into
books for older kids. These chapters, however, still only have a few pages
of text and pictures per chapter, so they are not overwhelming.
The illustrations are drawn in pen and colored with bright
primary colors. For some added humor, encourage your child to read the
titles of the books in Mr. Brown’s store. Can your child think of a book
title for a scary story, or for a bookstore that only sells ghost stories? It turns out that Mr. Brown’s cheese-loving
cat is behind the bookstore ghost, as it was all his clever idea. Discuss with
your child how Mr. Brown’s cat used creativity and thought 'outside of the box'
to come up with his plan, where no one loses. Can your child think of a
time they did that? Or perhaps they have a current dilemma they can share, together you can think creatively on how to deal with it.
I bought this for my niece when she was five and just
learning to read sentences. Her birthday is just before Halloween, so I though
the theme of the book would be fun. We read it together, with Emily doing most
of the reading, and she enjoyed it so much that I looked for more Puffin
easy-to-read books to get her for Christmas.
--Audra