Book Trailer Premiere: How to Make Friends With a Ghost by Rebecca Green

There are book trailer premieres and then there are book trailer premieres. When Tundra Books asked if I might be interested in premiering the trailer for Rebecca Green’s simply adorable How to Make Friends With a Ghost, I thought it might be fun. Still, you know what’s even more fun that a trailer premiere?

A trailer premiere that comes after I force the creator to answer inane questions!  Woohoo!

Rebecca Green, as it happens, is awfully nice.  So nice, in fact, that when I sent out today’s challenge she responded with aplomb.  Consider this Halloween in August, folks!  Here then are her answers to this very simple question:

What Are Your Top Five Spooky Picture Books?

Norman Bridwell’s Clifford’s Halloween. I was a huge Clifford fan growing up, and since Fall and Halloween were (and still are) my favorite time of year, this was always one my favorite Clifford books. This book is perfect for this list, since the big red dog made such a wonderful ghost.

Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson’s Leo: A Ghost Story. This book is timeless and wonderful – the details, the timing, the color pallet, everything. Leo is such an endearing character and Jane is just as sweet. Illustrations are what often speak to me most, and I can’t get enough of the textures, shapes, and line work that seem so spontaneous and intuitive in all of Christian Robinson’s work.

Kyo Maclear and Júlia Sardà’s The Liszts. While this book isn’t technically ‘spooky’, the details, the illustrations, and the stranger who appears, all make this feel mysterious and magical. I especially love the spread of the boy and the stranger in space, and the last illustration where all the unknown creatures are entering this orderly realm. Júlia is one of my favorite illustrators on the planet so I feel no list would be complete without her work.

Pam Adam’s There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. This book shook me as a child! I remember it being read to me in school and I thought it was quite morbid to hear of this woman dying, only after eating so many other animals. The most vivid detail was the ‘spider that wriggled and wriggled and jiggled inside her.’ I’m not sure I realize the moral of the song/story, except that you shouldn’t eat a whole horse?! Either way, definitely a favorite.

My favorite children’s book ever is one I’m happy to add to this list: Joanna Cole and Dirk Zimmer’s Bony-Legs. In my early twenties, I had a flash of a memory which included red and yellow illustrations, a young girl who befriended animals and an old witch. I asked every librarian, book store owner and teacher I knew, though it was familiar to no one. I searched online and scoured bookshelves, but to no avail. Then one day I was speaking with a high-school student and casually mentioned the story to him. He said, “Oh! It’s Bony-Legs! I’ll send you the link to order it.” Though it was not the most magical way to come across the beloved story, I was elated. As an adult, the book is even more precious to me.

Bony-Legs tells the story of an iron-toothed witch who is based on the Russian Folk Tale of Baba Yaga. The young girl, Sacha, escapes being eaten by the witch who lives in a hut on chicken feet. She offers help to a cat, a dog, and a gate, and they in turn help her escape. The illustrations are packed with magnificent details and textures and every time I read the book, I find something new in the images. I highly recommend this spooky classic.

Thank you, Rebecca!  Here then is the brand new book trailer for her latest:

Curious for more? Here are some interior images (and one author photo) to further whet your whistle:

Thanks to the good people of Tundra and Rebecca herself for the premiere.

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