What I love about this is Leo gave up his home and everything he loved so that this family would be comfortable in his own house. If Leo: A Ghost Story had been around when I was a kid, it would have been one of my favorite books. From the brilliant author of Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole comes this sweet story of a friendship that goes beyond the land of the living. This book is charming and has a story structure that keeps you guessing what is going to happen and what the resolution will be ; not one of those one, two, three punch kids stories. It’s a warm and wise story about acceptance trumping difference—including that between life and death.

Especially as we start up a new school year, Leo the ghost is a great example of finding friends, both real and imaginary. Hoping to ingratiate himself with these new housemates, Leo prepared them mint tea and honey toast, only to unintentionally terrify them with his actions. Morbidly amused, but also genuinely curious, I turned to Mac and asked, “If we did all die in a fiery crash tonight, how many books do you have finished that would still be published posthumously? A heartening parable of seeing through difference, meeting the unfamiliar with unflinching friendliness, and dignifying the reality of the other. But luckily, there's Jane, our plucky heroine, who can see Leo when others can't and believes him to be her imaginary friend.Delighted to have finally found a friend, Leo is torn - should he tell Jane that he is not what she thinks, and risk losing her? For many years, Leo lived by himself in a house on the edge of the city, reading books and drawing pictures in the dust.

My favorite illustration is from the part of the story when Leo has just found his first real friend. A few have two or three sold ahead of time, but haven’t written them yet, and even less have two or three finished waiting for publication, but SEVEN? Together, words and pictures construct a whimsical, delightful story that deeply respects the child. He openly welcomed the new family into his home, but, the family was scared and desperate and a little bit hateful of their housemate, so Leo hits the road as a roaming ghost.The story doesn’t tell us how he became a ghost at such a young age, and it doesn’t promise that his imaginative new friend will always trust him. I highly recommend this book if you are feeling slightly down in some way, as it will definitley make you feel joyful feelings.