Kirkus Reviews

Sierra adapts a few spooky tales for the early-reader set with lackluster results. Most books with this format form a cohesive whole, but the chapters here stand alone for the most part. Three chapters are reworkings of familiar tales. "The Skeleton Bride" is a tale of woe about Blackbeard the Pirate's wife, South Sea Sue. She meets a sad end as the ship sinks—until a diver 100 years later gets a scary surprise. "Never Kick a Ghost" is about mean man Sam Sniff's comeuppance after he repeatedly kicks suspicious white apparitions during a walk through the graveyard. "The Big Slobbery Monster" taunts a child, "Look what I can do / with my long green fingers / and my floppy purple lips." After the boy fails to escape the goofy monster, the creature shows what he can do as he strums his fingers over his mouth: "Blub-blub-a!" One chapter is a quick playground rhyme about witches, and another is a double page-spread with funny epitaphs that are difficult to decipher because the dark-gray text is displayed in varying typefaces on medium-gray headstones. Constantin's mass-market–looking illustrations fail to add any oomph to this disappointing title. Pass. (Early reader. 4-8)

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

SIERRA, Judy . Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers . illus. by Pascale Constantin. bibliog. Aug. ISBN 978-0-06-143519-5 ; ISBN 978-0-06-143521-8 . ea vol: 32p. (I Can Read! Series). HarperCollins . 2011. Tr $16.99; pap. $3.99. LC number unavailable. PreS-Gr 1 In the first appealing beginning reader, Gilman captures the antics of a devoted puppy and her owner as the child tries out for the lead in her school play. Mischief and mayhem ensue as Dixie attempts to help Emma learn her lines for the part of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz . The colorful, realistic illustrations have strong context support and are well balanced on the page, providing a warmhearted perspective to the story line. Children with the acting bug will enjoy Emma's excitement up through performance day, delighting when Dixie gets a lead part, too. Never Kick a Ghost is a collection of stories filled with suspense, silliness, and chills. The whimsical, full-color illustrations enliven the texts. The stories' origins are explained in the back matter. This is a supplementary early reader, particularly for Halloween. Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Five very short stories, some adapted from folklore, alternate between laughing at fear and reveling in it. Kicking a ghost turns out deadly in one story, but a monster in another does nothing but slobber. New readers who can handle ghosts that stay ghostly will tell their spooky new stories with pride. Illustrations let in enough light to comfort trepidatious readers.