Welcome to another baby book club! Today we’re discussing Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Christian Robinson.
Tilly: This book is about a ghost named Leo. It’s quite good. Leo looks nice, with a good smile and a fringe like mine. I like ghosts and Leo seems like a good ghost to have as a friend. Do you like ghosts? Some people think ghosts are scary but Mummy says I’m brave so I’m not scared.
Marian:Â Leo’s hair does look like yours! That’s funny. Leo is my first encounter with a ghost, and based on this book, I definitely like ghosts. He reads, he serves food, and he likes to play. I want to be friends with him. I think it’s really mean that the first family didn’t want to be friends with him just because they couldn’t see him. So what? I would definitely still eat food that came floating toward me. And I’d say thank you.
Tilly: I like the pictures in this book. They’re mostly blue which I think is my favourite colour. I’m still trying to decide my favourite colour but blue is definitely up there. What’s your favourite colour?
Marian:Â My eyes are blue! It’s funny how we both have things in common with this book. Your hair is like Leo’s, and my eyes are like the art. Lately orange is my favorite color. I keep seeing orange pumpkins and I like to point them out to Mommy.
Tilly: I thought it was sad that Leo had to leave his house and become a roaming ghost. It must not be very nice to be kicked out of your home. I kind of have two homes. My real home where I sleep almost every night but also my grandma and grandpa’s house because I go there a lot.
Marian: That’s cool! I only have one home, and I can’t imagine being kicked out of it. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I could live in the library, though. Then I could play with all the books.
Tilly: Leo has some fun adventures though when he becomes a roaming ghost. I like that bit. I liked the picture of the city and especially the page with the police officer and the woof. Woofs are the best. I’d like to go on an adventure with Leo.
Marian:Â I wish I had a woof to play with.
Tilly: And! The best bit about Leo becoming a roaming ghost is that he makes a friend! Her name is Jane. I have lots of friends. My mummy says all my soft toys are my friends and she always asks why I killed them after I throw them on the floor. Mummy doesn’t understand that my friends like being thrown on the floor. Silly Mummy. Do you have lots of friends too? Do they like being murdered?
Marian:Â I love throwing my stuffed animal friends! And I agree — they enjoy it. I also snuggle them. And eat them. I’m glad Jane has an imaginary dog friend too, so Leo still has a woof to play with. What makes imaginary friends different from non-imaginary friends, I wonder? Can you still throw them on the floor?
Tilly: The scariest part of the story is the robber. I was a tiny little bit scared when the robber showed up. Were you scared? Do you like being scared? I kind of like being scared sometimes.
Marian:Â Oh, I don’t like being scared at all. Almost every night I wake Mommy and Daddy up so they can hold me because I had a scary dream. But I’m not scared when they hold me. Parents are very good at chasing scary things away. I wasn’t scared of the robber because I thought he was funny tip toeing everywhere, but it’s cool that Leo chased him away! That was exciting.
Tilly: Overall, this was a very good book. It was lovely to listen to, Leo is the best ghost, and the pictures are blue and pretty. Thank you for reading and discussing it with me!
Marian:Â It was fun!
Tilly and Marian have more Book Clubs if you would like to join in on the fun!