Birdy and the Ghosties (Gripping Tales) - Softcover

Jill Paton Walsh is a distinguished writer, best-known for her adult novel, Knowledge of Angles, which was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize. Among her many children's titles are The Dolphin Crossing (widely acknowledged as a modern classic); Gaffer Samson's Luck (Winner of the Smarties Prize); The Emperor's Winding Sheet (Winner of the Whitbread Award) and Thomas and the Tinners (Winner of the Smarties Prize).

Grade 1-4-- Birdy's father is a ferryman, and Birdy often rides with him to balance the boat. One day an elderly passenger tells Birdy that she has the second sight, and Birdy finds that if she looks twice at things they often look quite different the second time around. When a ghost family, invisible to all but Birdy, demands a ferry ride, they appear to her to be hideous, frightening creatures at first, but a second look shows them as a handsome, noble family. "We get stuck with how people see us," says the ghostie king, "and some people do have the horrors!" In gratitude, he offers her a gift, but Birdy also sees through a false promise and ends up with treasure enough to change her life. Every page of this story is enhanced with Marks' appropriately aqueous watercolors (full-color alternating with black-and-white) evoking the wind-tossed waves and the gray-green sea. While written in easy chapter-book format with large print, short chapters, and full illustration, the story has the ring of folklore, told in a lyrical, flowing style that is perfect for reading aloud. No source is given, but the familiar themes and arresting phrases are reminiscent of the folktales of the British Isles. Readers will enjoy reading this alone, but it is also possible to ignore the chapter headings and read the entire story aloud to a group so as not to break its misty, evanescent, sea-green spell. --Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy,
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