The Ghosts Went Floating

by Kim Norman, Jay Fleck (Illustrator)

Overview

A Bank Street Best Book of 2021

Inspired by the children's song "The Ants Went Marching" and involving early math concepts, writer Kim Norman and illustrator Jay Fleck's The Ghosts Went Floating is a spooktacular adventure perfect for Halloween.

The ghosts went floating,
one by one,
BOO-rah! BOO-rah!
when Halloween had just begun.
BOO-rah! BOO-rah!
The ghosts went floating, one by one,
so why don’t YOU come join the fun?

Trick-or-treat with ghosts, skeletons, witches, zombies, and all sorts of cute and creepy creatures in this fun-filled Halloween counting adventure!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374388607
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Kim Norman is the author of more than a dozen picture books, including Come Next Season, Ten on the Sled and The Bot That Scott Built. Her books have been widely translated and have earned numerous starred reviews. She lives in Virginia.

Jay Fleck is the illustrator of Flo written by Kyo Maclear, Double Take written by Susan Hood, Black Belt Bunny written by Jacky Davis, and Everything You written by Elizabeth McPike. He lives in Shorewood, Illinois, with his family.

Kim Norman is the author of more than a dozen picture books, including Ten on the Sled and The Bot That Scott Built. Her books have been widely translated and have earned numerous starred reviews. She lives in Virginia.
Jay Fleck is the illustrator of numerous children’s books, including Flo written by Kyo Maclear, Everything You written by Elizabeth McPike, The Ghosts Went Floating by Kim Norman, and We’re Going on a Treasure Hunt by Kelly DiPucchio. He lives in Shorewood, Illinois, with his family.

Editorial Reviews

08/17/2020

Favorite children’s counting song “The Ants Go Marching” gets a sweetly spooky makeover in this vibrant Halloween rendition. The titular ghosts, floating one by one (“BOO-rah! BOO-rah!”), are joined by two cackling witches, three stumbling mummies, and an assigned number of other characters until they form a parade heading “up the hill/ in the chill,/ by the light of the moon,/ moon, moon, moon.” In addition to showcasing numbers one through 10 and a solid array of monsters, Norman’s bouncy text laudably introduces a colorful variety of ambulatory verbs (among them lumbered, lurched, plodded, and swarmed). Fleck uses a pleasant palette and simple lines to create friendly-looking subjects on the move, in and out of moonlight and shadow and toward, in the closing pages, a festive Halloween fete. Ages 3–6. (July)

Publishers Weekly

*A Bank Street Best Board Book*

“[A] winner of a holiday-themed counting book. . .The rhymes read and scan deliciously well and develop vocabulary wonderfully by utilizing nifty words to describe the characters’ movements and behaviors as the creatures and count-along proceed. . .The humorous, extremely child-appealing illustrations are set against mostly dark red, blue, and purple backgrounds lit by a full moon, as befits the occasion. . .No trick: Count this one as a real Halloween treat.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Favorite children’s counting song 'The Ants Go Marching' gets a sweetly spooky makeover in this vibrant Halloween rendition. . .Fleck uses a pleasant palette and simple lines to create friendly-looking subjects on the move, in and out of moonlight and shadow and toward, in the closing pages, a festive Halloween fete.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2020-07-14
Various fearsome but playful beings wend their ways toward a secret destination on Halloween night.

Ghosts, vampires, mummies, zombies, witches, skeletons, and others utilize various styles of locomotion to navigate “up the hill, / in the chill, / by the light of the moon, / moon, moon, moon.” And they do so very rhythmically in this winner of a holiday-themed counting book. Those adult readers who are familiar with the bouncy song “The Ants Go Marching” will happily trot that tune out to sing to listeners, rather than read, the rollicking verses herein, inspired by the rhyme schemes and rhythms of that jaunty ditty. The rhymes read and scan deliciously well and develop vocabulary wonderfully by utilizing nifty words to describe the characters’ movements and behaviors as the creatures and count-along proceed. Witches “cackle” and “crank their motors” (their brooms have outboards); mummies “stumble,…murmurs echoing frightfully”; zombies “lumber” and “lurch”; and vampires “hover.” The humorous, extremely child-appealing illustrations are set against mostly dark red, blue, and purple backgrounds lit by a full moon, as befits the occasion. Cheery, dapperly attired protagonists move inexorably through the atmospheric evening—until the final spread makes it delightfully clear why the motley crew’s trek up that hill was well worth the trip. A bevy of smiley ghosts float gracefully across front and back endpapers.

No trick: Count this one as a real Halloween treat. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews