"Ghosts" by Raina Telgemeier
Telgemeier, Raina.(2016). Ghosts. New York, NY: Graphix.
ISBN: 9780545540612
This was
a really quick read! I let a student borrow it to read after STAAR testing and
he read the whole thing that day! I thought he was fibbing until I did the same
thing. The illustrations are great, very eye-friendly, and the storyline is
very straightforward. The boy thought it was really cool and even talked about it
with me the next day (he’s not even my student, he sought me out to discuss the
book!)
Basically,
Ghosts tells the story of Maya, who
has cystic fibrosis, and her sister Cat, who is dealing with the eventually
death of her baby sister. They have to move to a place that is easier on Maya
and her disease so they end up in Bahia De La Luna, translates to “Moon Bay,”
which is known for its friendly ghost population! Cat is a huge non-believer,
but Maya loves the idea of meeting a ghost.
Turns
out, the ghosts are real! They come and visit a local Mission and enjoy
spending time with the living, (and sharing orange sodas). Maya gets a little
too excited and ends up in the hospital, however, so Cat immediately does
everything she can to keep the ghosts at bay.
This
book includes the Mexican traditional festival of Dia De Los Muertos, November
1st, where the spirits of the living get to come back to visit with
their loved ones. On this day, Maya learns that the spirits are still just
people who are lonely and miss being their living loved ones. She shows
kindness to a lonely abuelita and then meets a very friendly, and very “young”
ghosts who very much wants to meet Maya. The story ends with Maya asking what
its like to die and be a spirit and how she will be able to care for her older
sister after she dies. Yeah, I know. So sad and brave at the same time.
There was
a surprising about of information in this book about Mexican culture, especially
regarding the death of loved ones. It gives a new perspective on death and the
afterlife that many people are unfamiliar with.
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