Gilbert the ghost

Gilbert is different than his fellow ghosts at Ghost School-not only is he a pale pink, instead of white, but when he tries to say "Boo," all that comes out is a stammering "Ba... ba... bahoo." The principal banishes Gilbert to the menacing "Abandoned Tower" to learn how to be scary, but when he meets Meow, a black cat with a purple bow around his tail, the two new friends turn the forbidding, decrepit tower into a cozy abode, complete with curtains, vases of flowers, and a roaring fireplace. It's a sweet story about outsider friendship that is just slightly scary in places. While the plot is as airy as Gilbert himself, it's hard not to be charmed by van Genechten's smiley, rosy-cheeked ghosts, who could give Casper a run for his money in the cuteness department. Ages 4-up. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A little ghost unapologetically makes the most of being different. From the beginning, pink-sheeted Gilbert stands out among all the other white-draped ghosts, but his parents love him no less for it. His peers accept him too, letting him daydream alone in his room at Ghost School when he wants to. But the principal is not so understanding, banishing him to the Abandoned Tower when Gilbert can summon only a weak "Ba...ba...bahoo" during "real ghost" class. Off Gilbert floats to the tower, where he meets a black cat named Meow, who wears a pink bow on his tail and shares Gilbert's penchant for interior decoration. They make the tower into a cozy home, where they entertain all the other ghosts when they get tired of haunting. What with the color and behavior codes planted in the story and illustrations, it's hard not to read this as a coming-out allegory, but the agenda does nothing to weigh down its sheer, goofy good-heartedness. Van Genechten adopts a gray palette for the ghostly scenes, Gilbert's pink sheet noticeably standing out; Gilbert and Meow's tower home features green-and-pink curtains and porcelain tea things, all lit with a rosy glow. Children will wonder why Gilbert's loving parents don't stick up for him, but they'll also applaud the way Gilbert calmly makes his own way. "Different" never looked so appealing. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.