She Wanted to Be Haunted

by Marcus Ewert, Susie Ghahremani (Illustrator)

Overview

With whimsical, rhyming stanzas, She Wanted to be Haunted offers a delightful, lyrical twist on the ever-important question of how to be your very best self.

Clarissa the cottage is adorable . . . bright pink, with windows that wink, and flowers growing all around. But Clarissa doesn't want to be adorable—being cute is boring.

Couldn't she be like her father, a creepy castle home to vampires and crypts? Or like her mother, a witch's hut full of spells and smells? If only she were haunted! Then she'd be less ordinary . . . What will it take for Clarissa to go from adorable to horrible?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681197913
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	315,443
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Marcus Ewert is the author of several picture books, including Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That, illustrated by Kayla Stark, Mummy Cat, illustrated by Lisa Brown, and 10,000 Dresses, recipient of the Stonewall Honor Award and illustrated by Rex Ray. Marcus works as a bookseller and lives in an actual turret in an old Victorian mansion in San Francisco. It is very likely haunted.
@MarcusEwertWriter

Susie Ghahremani is an award-winning illustrator, exhibiting artist, and designer of the popular gift brand boygirlparty®. Her books include What Will Hatch and What Will Grow by Jennifer Ward, Little Muir's Song by John Muir, Stack the Cats, and Balance the Birds. Susie once lived in an adorable pink house in Rhode Island that was most certainly haunted, but now she lives in Southern California with her husband and their black cat.
boygirlparty.com
@boygirlparty

Editorial Reviews

08/17/2020

This winsomely warped story stars Clarissa, an “adorable” but miserable bubblegum-pink cottage surrounded by daisies. Her father is a haunted castle who’s home to vampires and bats, and her mother is a witch’s hut filled with rats, frogs, and spells, but “unlike both her parents,/ Clarissa wasn’t host/ to anybody scary—/ not even one wan ghost!” Her parents’ efforts to help backfire amusingly: the castle offers a rain cloud that generates flowers, and the hut provides a bottle of noxious vapors that, rather than repel innocent creatures, attracts adorable puppies. Though Clarissa fears the worst when a pristine unicorn appears, “sometimes life has funny plans/ that we cannot predict./ The unicorn was vicious—/ he bit and spat and kicked.” The tone can feel muddled, mixing useful commentary about being oneself with a self-critical protagonist who, perhaps concerningly, ends up with a “brute.” But deadpan verse by Ewert propels the tale, and cartoons, painted by Ghahremani in gouache with graphite accents, escalate the humor. Ages 3–6. (July)

Publishers Weekly

This lyrical picture book about the wonders of seeds will charm readers with its fun gatefolds and softly appealing illustrations of animals and plants.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review, on WHAT WILL GROW?

“Ghahremani's art is playful yet refined, and the soft textures of the wood she paints on bring warmth to vignettes of dandelion-laden meadows, pumpkins stalked by a fox, and frosty winter fields.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review, on WHAT WILL GROW?

“Captures the magic and excitement of planting a garden and waiting for it to bloom.” —School Library Journal, starred review, on WHAT WILL GROW?

“An utterly original take on themes of self-acceptance just in time for Halloween, this is a potential hit to have on every shelf.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2020

K-Gr 3—Appearance isn't everything, suggests this clever, rhyming book about an adorable pink cottage who wishes to be haunted. Clarissa, the cottage, is reminiscent of Virginia Lee Burton's sweet Little House, with a delightful, sloping shingled roof, a busy chimney, and a front doormat that seems to smile in welcome. She's surrounded by daisies and scampering squirrels, but wishes to be haunted by ghosts or filled with horrifying monsters like her mother—a witch's hut—or vampires like her father, a castle. After two failed attempts to change her physical characteristics to attract the right type of resident, Clarissa decides that it's better to just be herself. That self-acceptance attracts a vicious unicorn who is perfectly horrible, and they instantly become best friends. Expressive artwork is detailed and hints at Clarissa's darker side. From the intricate family photographs hanging on Clarissa's walls to the blood dripping from her father's eerie windows, the illustrations have much to offer. Ewert's lilting cadence is humorously juxtaposed with sometimes gruesome and scary words and is certain to garner laughs. VERDICT An utterly original take on themes of self-acceptance just in time for Halloween, this is a potential hit to have on every shelf.—Shannon O'Connor, Unami M.S., Chalfont, PA

School Library Journal

2020-07-14
Which cottage would stand out more in a real estate ad: cute or…haunted?

Clarissa the sentient cottage dislikes cuteness; as a pink, adorable haven for flowers and squirrels, she’s bored. She yearns to be scary and haunted like her father, a gloomy castle, and her mother, a smelly, vermin-infested witch’s hut. Dad gladly donates clouds but tells Clarissa it’s OK to be herself. The clouds are a bust because they bring rain, which brings forth…a rainbow, plants, and birds. Mom supplies a reeking bottle whose contents allegedly repel living things. Clarissa opens it but…attracts playful dogs. Finally abandoning her desire for a ghostly boarder, Clarissa invites her animals to remain. At the end, a particular creature’s unexpected arrival—and its most uncharacteristic behavior—reveal Clarissa’s true nature: horrible and cute. And she’s just fine with that. This rhyming story is certainly an unusual take on the finding-oneself trope. The bouncy verses mostly read and scan well, include sophisticated vocabulary, and provide Clarissa with a spunky, appealing personality. Different typefaces represent the voices of Clarissa, each parent, and the narrator. The cheerful, lively illustrations are very colorful but a trifle twee; Clarissa and her parents are differentiated through vivid pinks, dreary shades, and anthropomorphic faces. Nature blossoms via bright depictions of flowers, trees, animals, and birds.

Not necessarily just for Halloween; readers can appreciate it any time. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews