Murray, Lily. Five Little Ghosts. Holly Surplice, Illus. Candlewick, 07/2024. [24]pp. Picture Book. Trade $16.99. 978-1-5362-3500-5. GRADES Baby/Toddler–Kindergarten. ADDITIONAL.
In this variation on the nursery song and fingerplay “Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day,” five small ghosts leave their mother one at a time until they all reunite. This will be fun for a Halloween storytime, even with the lyric changes. The colorful mixed media cartoon illustrations show the ghosts in the forest, and include large flaps which lift to reveal ghosts to be counted. Similar to Murray’s book Five Little Chicks (Candlewick, 2023), this is not a first purchase but a nice supplementary storytime choice.
Penny Peck—San José State University, iSchool