Leo: A Ghost Story

Product Information

the book emphasizes a certain sweetness with Barnett's stripped down prose and Christian Robinson's adorable illustrations. Of course I appreciate the appearing act orchestrated in the first two spreads, but part of me questions that usage of space for a narrative that ultimately is about two characters.

Leo is a house ghost, but when a new family move into his home and shoo him away, he ventures out into the big city. It’s about friendship, about how sometimes leaving some things behind could lead you to better things. Jane is sapphire-skinned but reads African-American to me, with her braided or twisted hair — drawn as cheerful little dots — in a high side ponytail. If Leo: A Ghost Story had been around when I was a kid, it would have been one of my favorite books. Christian Robinson's decision to use papercutting and coloured pencil to illustrate this book, might have created a flat looking image created by just any old illustrator, but the way he wonkily and boldly cuts shapes and draws around them, makes the illustration as engaging as the text.

Without giving too much of the plot away, he finds a friend though there is a misunderstanding that must be a fairly common occurrence among ghosts. Leo the ghost lived a life of quiet solitude in an abandoned house on the edge of the city, until the day a new family moved in.

Barnett and Robinson celebrate play, as Jane breaks gender roles and includes Leo among her imaginary friends. Christian Robinson’s beautiful illustrations are simple and stylish; the cool blue palette perfectly captures Leo’s quiet world and the city scenes evoke classic New Yorker-style illustrations. There are police women, non-methy white burglars thieving a black household, and despite the monochromatic illustrations having a decidedly '50's feel, some women wear pants! A few have two or three sold ahead of time, but haven’t written them yet, and even less have two or three finished waiting for publication, but SEVEN?It emphasizes that African-Americn children (that all kinds of children) lead rich imaginative lives, without drawing undue attention to the lesson.

I read it together with two other titles featuring imaginary friends - The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and Imaginary Fred - and was struck by the fact that all three books address the longing for connection, in their diverse ways. Leo: A Ghost Story is the tale of a true lost soul, looking for companionship after a long and lonely haunt. The story doesn’t tell us how he became a ghost at such a young age, and it doesn’t promise that his imaginative new friend will always trust him. Together, words and pictures construct a whimsical, delightful story that deeply respects the child. Christian Robinson can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, but I do prefer his less monochromatic work.None of those things are central to the story but they're there, quietly informing young minds about the world and I thought that was pretty cool. When a new family moves into his home and Leo's efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave and see the world.

Leo's new friend, Jane, is a black girl who has a huge imagination (and also wears the ponytail balls in her hair and I wanted those sooo badly when I was little but my mom couldn't make them work so I was just envious of all the girls who could wear them, a memory which surfaced when I saw Jane, but in a lovingly sentimental way, no spite at all). A heartening parable of seeing through difference, meeting the unfamiliar with unflinching friendliness, and dignifying the reality of the other. What I love about this is Leo gave up his home and everything he loved so that this family would be comfortable in his own house. But luckily, there's Jane, our plucky heroine, who can see Leo when others can't and believes him to be her imaginary friend. I also wondered if the thwarted robbery could have been more drawn out and suspenseful, but it was managed well enough.

It’s a warm and wise story about acceptance trumping difference—including that between life and death. This charming tale of friendship—from two of the best young minds in picture books: the author of the Caldecott Honor–winning Extra Yarn and the illustrator of the Bologna Ragazzi Award–winning Josephine—is destined to become a modern classic that will delight readers for years to come. Some bookmakers have achieved that goal well with depth and humor, but Leo: A Ghost Story doesn't make the cut.