Published by Candlewick

Summary:  The spread before the title page shows a chicken crossing the road…and a large truck rounding a bend.  The title page shows a flash of light and some feathers smack up against the front of the truck.  And then…”What happened?” asks a ghostly chicken, rising from its flattened body on the road.  Ghostly animals appear to fill her in on the fact that she’s become…poultrygeist!  The chicken wants to be a friendly ghost, but the other animals insist she’s just being chicken, and should use her haunting powers to their fullest.  Finally, she pulls a scary face that terrorizes the other ghosts back into hiding.  The final page shows a happy squirrel about to cross the same stretch of road, with another truck barrelling around the bend.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  For kids who like funny scares, this one will surely get a lot of laughs, and older readers will appreciate the clever wordplay (“Cock-a-doodle-boo!”).  The neon illustrations against a black background provide a fun haunted look.

Cons:  More sensitive readers may find this more gruesome than funny, and especially be disturbed by the cute little squirrel on the last page.

Portions of this review was featured on Twinkl as part of their Great & Ghostly Guide to Halloween.