Leo: A Ghost Story

Product Information

That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendous imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. Jane and Leo have lots of fun together but being a ghost is not the same as being imaginary; and Leo’s ghostly nature might just save the day! None of those things are central to the story but they're there, quietly informing young minds about the world and I thought that was pretty cool. Mistaking him for an imaginary friend, he forms a special bond with Jane when she invites him to play.

Last year, after our yearly author visit, I was driving through downtown Montgomery to have dinner with my wife (in the passenger seat) and Mac Barnett ( in the back seat). Leo is a house ghost, but when a new family move into his home and shoo him away, he ventures out into the big city. Leo was a white kid when he was alive and he admits that the city has changed a lot but he's not hesitant to talk to this girl who can see him, this girl who plays games in her room or in the yard instead of hanging out with technology.Christian Robinson's decision to use papercutting and coloured pencil to illustrate this book, might have created a flat looking image created by just any old illustrator, but the way he wonkily and boldly cuts shapes and draws around them, makes the illustration as engaging as the text. D’une plume tout en fine sensibilité, Mac Barnett sait tricoter une adorable vérité entre les oeillères du réel. Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson create such a unique little story and empathetic characters, that I feel like children would get heavily invested in this picture book as well, and outwardly emote in reaction to the story as it goes. Leo's new friend, Jane, is a black girl who has a huge imagination (and also wears the ponytail balls in her hair and I wanted those sooo badly when I was little but my mom couldn't make them work so I was just envious of all the girls who could wear them, a memory which surfaced when I saw Jane, but in a lovingly sentimental way, no spite at all).

Meeting a young girl named Jane on a sidewalk, Leo finds a companion, one who can see him, but who mistakes him for an imaginary friend. Your reviews are noticed and appreciated, and, even though I keep up with kids lit, it's unlikely I would have found this on my own! What I love about this is Leo gave up his home and everything he loved so that this family would be comfortable in his own house.Together, words and pictures construct a whimsical, delightful story that deeply respects the child. There are so many subtle, positive messages in this story, creeping into the brain through the eyes. This charming tale of friendship—from two of the best young minds in picture books: the author of the Caldecott Honor–winning Extra Yarn and the illustrator of the Bologna Ragazzi Award–winning Josephine—is destined to become a modern classic that will delight readers for years to come. In any case, this was a sweet tale made all the better by Robinson's illustrations, done in acrylic paint and cut-out paper, in varying shades of blue, brown and black.

This book feels instantly classic: the retro illustrations paired with a timeless tale of finding friends who really see you. Christian Robinson’s beautiful illustrations are simple and stylish; the cool blue palette perfectly captures Leo’s quiet world and the city scenes evoke classic New Yorker-style illustrations.The story has a light touch, but there’s so much depth: a fearful ghost, a take-charge girl, an interracial friendship, and a tale in which fear is integrally and sweetly tied to positive qualities of imagination. Leo: A Ghost Story is a 2015 children's book written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Christian Robinson.