ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2005)

Just in time for Halloween story hours comes this tingly yarn about a cantankerous ghost in search of the perfect pie. On Halloween night, mean Old Man Wilkerson collapses into his plate while taking a bite of pumpkin pie. His wife buries him in the pumpkin patch and moves away, and young Jack and his grandmother move into the house. Their Halloween baking raises Wilkerson's ghost, which appears with an icy wind and demands the perfect pie: It must be round and brown as toast, or I'll haunt this house a hungry ghost. On their third attempt, Jack and Grandmother finally appease their finicky specter. Swirling, chaotic, splattered watercolors, reminiscent of Stephen Gammel's work, create a humorous and also abhorrent ghost in Wilkerson, complete with grisly details (a detached eyeball coolly appraises finished pies), all nicely balanced with images of bossy, unflappable Grandma. A few sensitive kids may find Wilkerson's abrupt death upsetting, but most will delight in this rollicking, sometimes gruesome Halloween ghost story. For readers wanting a book about another haunted kitchen, suggest Jacqueline Ogburn's The Bake Shop Ghost (2005).

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)

In this humorously grotesque ghost story, Old Man Wilkerson, whose body is buried in Jack and his grandmother's pumpkin patch, vows not to rest until Grandma bakes him a perfect pumpkin pie. The cranky ghost, as depicted in the cartoon art, is too laughably hideous to be truly scary, and his bluster is further deflated by Grandma's no-nonsense attitude.

Kirkus Reviews

A lad and his imperturbable grandma draw the attention of a pie-lovin' ghost in this comical country tale. No sooner does Granny put a pumpkin pie on the windowsill to cool than up rises Old Man Wilkerson from the garden, threatening, "It must be perfect / or a ghost I'll stay, / and haunt this house / and never, ever / go awaaaaaaaay!" Unfortunately, he's picky: The first pie won't do ("It looks like papier-mache!"), nor the second ("Next time, pleeeeeeease, MORE CINNAMON!"). Third time's the charm—or is it? Cazet takes cues from David Catrow and Stephen Gammell for his art, depicting Wilkerson as a wild, disjointed figure with his good eye in one hand and a fork in the other, surrounded by scribbled lines and sprays of paint. No recipe, but still a mouthwatering crowd-pleaser, at Halloween or any other time. (Picture book. 6-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Mrs. Wilkerson prepares the perfect pie for her husband, reminding him "After we pass on,... there will be <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">no more pie." With that, he shouts, "<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Then I ain't goin'!" and promptly expires. The widow buries him in the yard and moves on; in move Jack and his grandmother, who bakes a pumpkin pie. Swirling pen-and-inks, watercolor wash and a splattering of black paint show the ghost rising to sample the results, "Pumpkins, pumpkins,/ pumpkin pie!/ I must have one/ before I die." He rejects the first, but three's the charm, and the fellow goes back underground—until an apple pie scent wafts his way. Playful type and a mix of full-spread compositions and silhouette sequences keep a brisk pace. Youngsters will happily join in the ghost's refrain. Ages 3-6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-The talented and prolific Cazet scores again. It's Halloween night, and when Mrs. Wilkerson tells her grouchy husband that there won't be any pie in the afterlife, he declares, "Then I ain't goin'!" Then he keels over face down in the pie pan, dead with a fork in his hand. His wife buries him in the pumpkin patch, moves away, and that's that. Or is it? Of course not. A boy and his grandmother move into the house and are visited on the next Halloween by a wonderfully earthy ghost (with a fork sticking out of his brain and a removable eyeball) who is in search of the perfect pumpkin pie. This tale makes a great read-aloud, complete with the catchy refrain: "Pumpkins, pumpkins,/pumpkin pie!/I must have one/before I die./It must be round/and brown as toast,/or I'll haunt this house/a hungry ghost." The watercolor cartoons are dynamic and funny, bursting with details that kids will love (the ghost makes his exits in a swirl of chaotic lines filled with baking utensils). Even if your holiday shelves are crowded, make room for this one.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.