Leonard Builds a Haunted House
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Perfect for fans of Gustavo the Shy Ghost, this laugh-out-loud picture book puts a charming twist on the classic haunted house tale—a funny, spook-tacular read for Halloween or any time of year.
Leonard the cheerful, can-do ghost is building his family members a new haunted house. It needs to be the scariest house EVER! Except the more Leonard builds, the less creepy their new home looks. From the un-scary cellar to the snug roof that doesn’t leak, it’s nothing like the house of horrors his family imagined . . . or is it?
Mike Ciccotello’s Leonard Builds a Haunted House is a hilariously triumphant tale about family, moving, house-building—and the spirit it takes to make something truly you.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ciccotello amusingly draws on haunted house tropes in this crisp, construction-oriented picture book about a crew of ghosts who seek to build a dream home after developers buy their condemned residence. With their belongings loaded into a "BOO-HAUL" truck, the house-hunting specters aspire to move into "the scariest haunted house EVER! A real nightmare!" But as ghost contractor Leonard leads them step-by-step through the process, the narrator expresses skepticism about each component (around the "too perfect" plumbing: "Those pipes won't go bump in the night"). When the decor, including a heart-shaped lamp that refuses to flicker, also fails to achieve a suitably haunted vibe, the group disappointedly lament that the new abode isn't "even a teensy-weensy bit scary." Naturally, a visit from some neighbors reveals that Leonard had a plan all along. Depictions of the conventional home comically contrast with the narrator's wry commentary in this haunted domestic story. Human background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8.
