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The Picture Book Buzz

Gilbert and the Ghost - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

  • Writer: Maria Marshall
    Maria Marshall
  • 24 minutes ago
  • 4 min read

Although this will make a fun book to read at Halloween, with its mysterious and slightly spooky atmosphere, this is a wonderful book on determination and inclusion. It's an ingenious thought-provoking and touching friendship story.


Book cover - a boy stands, with a backpack on, looking a tan and black, multi-story, spooky-looking house, with the curtain blowing out of an upper window.

Gilbert and the Ghost

Author: Heather Pierce Stigall

Illustrator: Jess Mason

Publisher: Beaming Books (August 19, 2025)

Ages: 3 - 8

Fiction


Themes:

Ghosts, spookiness, feeling invisible, and friendship.


Synopsis:

The ghost at 632 Savannah Street is real . . . right?


Gilbert often feels invisible, just like the ghost living at 632 Savannah Street. Despite his family's disbelief, Gilbert leaves gifts for the ghost: a friendship bracelet, a plate of cookies, even a drawing with a note. When each disappears one by one, Gilbert finds that believing and friendship are worth the effort.


For kids who might often feel unseen, Gilbert and the Ghost is a ghostly tale of overcoming obstacles and finding friendship in mysterious places. Gothic, whimsical illustrations make this picture book perfect for spooky season, while its earnest themes make it worth a read all year round.


Opening Lines:

Gilbert believed in ghosts. Especially the

one at 632 Savannah Street


What I LOVED about this book:

After opening with Gilbert lying on his stomach drawing pictures of a house, a white stereotypical ghost, and the two of them together as friends, we meet his family, learn of their dismissal of the idea of ghosts, and discover that Gilbert himself feels invisible. The darkened windows and overall earth-toned palette, as well as the fog/mist that hovers around the base of the house, but doesn't come past the fence, lends the house a wonderfully lightly spooky atmosphere.


Internal spread - a boy stands outside a wrought-iron gate starting at an old, dark Victorian house, with mist all around it. His mother, brother, and sister have continued walking past.

Text © Heather Pierce Stigall, 2025. Image © Jess Mason, 2025.


And that last sentence - "Gilbert knew how hard it was to make friends, especially when you’re invisible." - becomes a heart wrenching refrain. Definitely highlighting 'kindred spirits.' Carrying the darkened palate of colors surrounding the house into his school, Gilbert sits in a supply closet making a friendship bracelet. His feeling of being unseen in class is proven when no one noticed when he wasn't there. And a beautiful spot illustration, surrounded by white space shows Gilbert's determination that a ghost lives in the house and beautifully reinforces his hope to be its friend.

Internal spread - on the left, boy sits against a wall in a darkened supply closet, next to a shelf of supplies, with a small glimpse into a lit classroom with other kids. On the right,  a boy stands in front of a spooky house and leaves a friendship bracelet on the gate.

Text © Heather Pierce Stigall, 2025. Image © Jess Mason, 2025.


The disappearance of the bracelet the next day strengthens Gilbert's belief. And he is convinced he can not only hear but see the ghost. His family blames the wind. When Gilbert leaves a game of tag (and again no one notices), he bakes cookies and leaves a plate on the house steps. When they are gone the next day, it has to be the ghost, he can feel it. So, Gilbert writes a note - Will you be my friend? - and leaves it on the porch. With each gift, Gilbert has gotten closer and closer to the door. I adore the subtle shift in POV of the illustration as the reader, instead of following him, watches Gilbert walk up to the porch through the upper window of the house. What a great place to take a pause and ponder - Has Gilbert been right? Is there a ghost? Are perhaps "we," the reader, "the ghost"?


Internal spread - through an upper story window, of the spooky house,  a boy is seen below walking toward the porch with a note.

Text © Heather Pierce Stigall, 2025. Image © Jess Mason, 2025.


Despite his family's continued skepticism, Gilbert refuses to give up. You will enjoy the very touching ending which employs a fun tweak on the refrain and offers a surprise twist that leaves everything a bit open-ended. This will be a lot of fun to read to kids and ask them what they think happened. It is a very unique, slightly spooky, thought-provoking, and touching friendship story.


Resources:

Photo collage of simple white fabric ghosts.

  • have fun and make your own ghost friend. How will you personalize your ghost? You could change the fabric to plaid or flowered (or your favorite color or pattern), add yarn hair, or use pipe cleaners to add arms? Or maybe even make a friendship bracelet for your ghost friend.


  • why did Gilbert feel invisible? If so, what made you feel better? If not, how could you help someone else feel included and seen?


  • how do you make a new friend? If you were moving, going to a new school, a new grade, or trying a new sport how would you reach out to others? How could you help someone else who is new?


  • check out the book's educator's guide, created by educator Caitlin Stigall.


    Collage of book covers for books to pair with Gilbert and the Ghost.
  • pair this with The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton, Invisible Jerry by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Giuseppe Poli, Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson, Ghost Cat by Kevan Atteberry, and Be A Friend by Salina Yoon.


If you missed my interview with Heather Pierce Stigall on Monday, find it (here).


This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.

Maria Marshall

 Photograph © A. Marshall

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