Little Ghoul Goes to School

by Jef Czekaj, Jef Czekaj (Illustrator)

Overview

Perfect for back-to-school and Halloween, this is a funny and sweet story about a monster’s first day of school by the popular author-illustrator of Cat Secrets. The ideal next read for fans of First Day Jitters, My Monster Mama Loves Me So, and We Don’t Eat Our Classmates.

Little Ghoul is nervous about her first day of school. Her mom assures her that it will be great: The teachers will be scary. The lunch will be revolting! And the other classmates will be spine-tingling and creepy.

But what if Little Ghoul’s greatest fears come true—and everyone is nice?

In this hilariously silly take on a monster’s first day, Little Ghoul learns that school can be fun for creatures of every kind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063089501
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jef Czekaj is a cartoonist, children’s book author and illustrator, and musician. His comic, Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, ran in Nickelodeon magazine for more than ten years. Jef’s other picture books include Cat Secrets and Dog Rules; Oink-a-Doodle-Moo; and Austin, Lost in America. He lives in Somerville, MA. You can visit him online at www.czekaj.com.

Editorial Reviews

06/28/2021

Little Ghoul, a light green fanged creature, hopes her first day of school will be awful, with a rusty bus, a mean teacher, and no friends. But the bus has a friendly driver, and the principal of Sunshine Elementary greets her with a grin. Her peanut-butter-and-jelly lunch is a far cry from her preferred “maggot-and-brown-banana-peel sandwich, rotten milk, and a pickle-and-fishbone cookie for dessert.” But the tattooed librarian, Ms. Shelley, might just save the day. Author-illustrator Czekaj plays reversals throughout to full comedic effect: “Her mom slobbered on her and tenderly said, ‘I hope you have dreadful nightmares.’ ” Comics-style paneled art, rendered in ink and colored digitally, is approachable, expressive, and inclusive, with characters of differing abilities, religions, and skin tones. Adults will appreciate allusions to Mary Shelley and Edward Gorey in this entertaining subversion, which simultaneously serves as an ode to librarians. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A recommended, imaginative, and playful read-aloud perfect for preschool and early elementary school, sure to scare away the first-day-of-school nerves.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“The illustrations are as entertaining as the text, adding a layer of humor with the reversal of what’s delightful and what’s fearful in the perspective of this oddly endearing little monster….An adorably soothing introduction to the potential terrors of school.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Author-illustrator Czekaj plays reversals throughout to full comedic effect. Comics-style paneled art, rendered in ink and colored digitally, is approachable, expressive, and inclusive, with characters of differing abilities, religions, and skin tones. Adults will appreciate allusions to Mary Shelley and Edward Gorey in this entertaining subversion, which simultaneously serves as an ode to librarians.” — Publishers Weekly

“Czekaj’s splendidly horrid twist on the standard account of first-day jitters is bound to get kids giggling…. A fun book for releasing nerves and finding comfort." — Booklist

“New-to-school fears are humorously explored in this story of one little ghoul whose first day doesn’t go as expected….a uniquely monstrous perspective on a common kid milestone” — Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

Czekaj’s splendidly horrid twist on the standard account of first-day jitters is bound to get kids giggling…. A fun book for releasing nerves and finding comfort."

Booklist

New-to-school fears are humorously explored in this story of one little ghoul whose first day doesn’t go as expected….a uniquely monstrous perspective on a common kid milestone

Horn Book Magazine

Praise for OINK-A-DOODLE-MOO: “The simple compositions, dynamic posed animals, bright colors, and large word bubbles will make this as successful with larger groups as it will be with an audience of a few.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for CAT SECRETS: “Irresistible cartoon art.

Booklist

★ 05/01/2021

PreS-Gr 2—As she gobbles up a bedtime snack of spiders and brushes her teeth with rotten-onion toothpaste, Little Ghoul is nervous about the next morning, the first day of school. The young monster's mother tucks her into bed and reassures her "little maggot" that her first day will be just horrible. When she wakes up, Little Ghoul hopes for the weather to be cold and rainy, but is disgruntled by the sight of a bright and sunny morning. Expecting her teacher to be mean, she is disappointed to discover they are welcoming and caring. Little Ghoul's classmates are human children diverse in race, gender, and ability, and don't appear the least bit bothered by a pleasant first day of school. After enduring such a nice morning, Little Ghoul is ready for the disgusting and rotten lunch waiting in her lunch box, but is once again defeated at the sight of a delicious sandwich and cookie. A smiling boy even tries to be Little Ghoul's friend and she runs away screaming. Suddenly Little Ghoul is jolted awake by the beeping of her alarm clock. Was it all just a good dream? This book hilariously depicts a little monster's alternative reality using bold cartoon-style illustrations drawn with ink and digitally colored. Pair with a little dinosaur's first day of school in Ryan T. Higgins's We Don't Eat Our Classmates for a laugh-out-loud story time. VERDICT A recommended, imaginative, and playful read-aloud perfect for preschool and early elementary school, sure to scare away the first-day-of-school nerves.—Emily Brush, Novi P.L., MI

School Library Journal

2021-05-19
Little Ghoul is nervous for her first day of school: What if everything is nice?

Her mother assures her little green daughter that everything and everyone will be perfectly awful. But when she wakes up, the weather is sunny and warm, not rainy and cold as she had hoped. The bus driver is smiling and kind instead of terrifying. The principal welcomes everyone with a smile. And it is all downhill from there: Nothing is as horrible as she had hoped. Finally, a boy actually shakes her hand and asks to be friends, sending Little Ghoul screaming. Thankfully, Little Ghoul wakes up to find that this awful experience was just a nightmare. As her mom sends her off, the weather is indeed cold and rainy. Her teacher is “hideous,” lunch is “repulsive,” and the librarian, the same creepy Ms. Shelley as in her dream, lets her know that “everything [will] be all right.” Little Ghoul’s fears, loves, and habits will induce many grossed-out giggles, and the story may serve as a clever anxiety-reducing tale for little ones who are nervous about starting school themselves. The illustrations are as entertaining as the text, adding a layer of humor with the reversal of what’s delightful and what’s fearful in the perspective of this oddly endearing little monster. The children and teachers in Little Ghoul’s nightmare are racially diverse humans; with the exception of Ms. Shelley, a woman of color, her waking reality is populated by (not-too-scary) monsters. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An adorably soothing introduction to the potential terrors of school. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews