A young girl lives in an old house – she thinks there may be a ghost, but she has never seen one. Perhaps the reader can help her find the ghost, or maybe more than one…
This is a beautiful, funny, spooky picture book that will captivate children of all ages. The girl in the sumptuous house – built in 1760 – has been searching for her ghost and wonders if the reader can help – well, yes, we can – but that doesn’t really help her. The delightful gentle humour of the sparse text and the big greyscale illustrations of the house complement the brightly coloured small girl showing us around – and as we turn the transparent pages, we can see the array of friendly ghosts in all the parts of the house. They hide in plain sight, in the chandeliers, in the hall, under and over the bed – everywhere that will make children giggle with joy as they see them – and the little girl doesn’t.
The transparent pages are very cleverly designed and printed so that the ‘ghosts’ only show up on the page turn against the darker illustrations of the house. What a brilliant idea! This will be a favourite for many years to come and be looked at every Halloween – as well as during the rest of the year.
A captivating and utterly unique picture book with interactive, transparent pages about a girl who lives in a haunted house from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.
A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? Step inside and help the girl as she searches under the stairs, behind the sofa, and in the attic for the ghost.
From New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers comes a delightful picture book that breaks the fourth wall about young girl's determination to find the ghost haunting her house. Includes tracing paper pages that make the silly ghosts appear on each page. Perfect for Halloween!
The witty images are atmospheric and full of enthralling detail Nicolette Jones / The Times
An optimistic snapshot of contemporary life, this heartfelt hug of a book ought to become a classic The Guardian
Beautiful illustrations Creative Review
There is a childlike awe and wonder about the stars and planets in the book The Irish Times
Delightfully illustrated Time
Beautifully illustrated Artists & Illustrators
'This performer had assured pace and charm. The storytelling was captivating and a beautifully realised gem, with a surprise ending. Gorgeous!' Audio Production Awards judges
Author
About Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers has won numerous awards and delighted millions of kids and parents alike with his beautifully hand illustrated stories.
Jeffers's picture books are wonderfully accessible. They explore themes of friendship, loneliness, independence and imagination. He has written and illustrated, or "made", as he prefers to put it, five hugely successful picture books. The first three - the "boy books" - feature a small boy who sets off on a series of daunting quests. How to Catch a Star (2004), the first of them, was inspired by a Brer Rabbit story he read as a child. In Lost and Found (2005) the boy heroically rows to the south pole for the sake of an unhappy penguin, and in The Way Back Home (2007) he rescues a young Martian whose spaceship has crashed on the moon.
The Heart and the Bottle is wholly compelling for the importance of its message and the brilliance of how that is conveyed in words and pictures. This is a book to return to time and time again says Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4kids’ editorial expert.
Jeffers was born in Australia in 1977 and brought up in Belfast. He studied visual communication at the University of Ulster, and graduated in 2001. Jeffers became passionate about making picture books when he began to understand the subtle relationship between words and pictures – ‘that was what excited me. Until I got really involved, I hadn't realised how just a few words can totally change the meaning of a picture.’ Now living in New York, he works as a painter, designer, printmaker and installation artist, but remains very busy making picture books.
Did you know?
Oliver loves plastic food, suitcase handles and Elvis, and has developed a bizarre habit of endlessly writing lists he never reads. He remains hell bent on travelling all over the world.
You can see Oliver talking about his artwork in this video:
We have a super set of Oliver Jeffers activity pages to download :
