We're Going on a Ghost Hunt
This lively picture book gives the familiar “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” story/chant/song/game a slightly different theme. Four children leave their house one night to hunt for a ghost. After traveling through a “muddy, murky swamp,” a “rustling, rattling cornfield,” a “swishy, fishy river,” and “wild, windy woods,” up a giant tree, and into a graveyard, they meet a ghost and hightail it back home. Pearson’s text is rhythmic and makes fine use of sound effects. Using watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, Schindler illustrates the adventures in a series of pleasing, moonlit scenes. Children can spot various nocturnal animals along the way. Though some libraries may have Marcia Vaughan’s We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt (2001) in their collections, this version follows the original text more closely and appeals to a somewhat older audience. A storyteller’s favorite, this there-and-back-again tale is reinvented and ready for action once more. Preschool-Grade 3. --Carolyn Phelan