Ready Steady Ghost!

Bertie is a small ghost but his fears are great. The tale begins, ‘MIDNIGHT! It was time for Bertie to go haunting. Ready, steady, ghost!’ The children with whom I shared this book loved this little play on words, and were hooked! Every time Bertie sees something in the dark, lonely woods he hopes it is a cosy cottage where he might take refuge and practise his woooos and boooos. But his fears mount as each time the lights turn into a gobble-me wolf, a squeeze-me snake, a sizzle-me dragon. To escape a chasing dog, he WHIFFLES up some castle steps, eventually finding himself in the attic where there is a tiny castle with a tiny king and queen needing a tiny and not TOO scary ghost. To encourage early reading skills, there is predictable repetition in Bertie’s outbursts when frightened, and also in the build-up to the revelation of each scary monster. The book is illustrated almost entirely in cold shades of blue or warm shades of orange, with black and white giving contrast and shading. It happily conveys just what it is like to be a little something in a big world.The warm, secure ending gives a positive message about finding your place in the world, even if very small.