Boo! hiss!

Gr 1--3--In this graphic novel for young readers, Phyllis the ghost and Sheldon the snake happily live together in an empty house that no one wants. They mostly spend their days together playing their favorite games and having the occasional fight (but they always make up). When a sold sign goes up in front of their house, and a family of humans move in, everything changes. The family, who is depicted with light skin, gets rid of Phyllis's and Sheldon's favorite things, paints the walls, and even plays with Phyllis's and Sheldon's toys! Mad about their home being taken away from them, the duo develops plans to scare the family into leaving, but eventually realize that they don't want the family to leave so much as they want a place in the family. Phyllis and Sheldon are comical characters, who even at their scariest moments are still delightfully playful. The digital illustrations move from haunted somber colors to a more vibrant, cheerful palette as the family settles into their new home. VERDICT A comical graphic novel for young readers looking for their next spirited paranormal read.--Amanda Melilli

Phyllis and Sheldon live in a ramshackle Victorian house, but they are no ordinary roommates. Phyllis, a ghost, and Sheldon, a green and orange rattlesnake, are great friends, enjoying books and playing Snakes and Ladders and catch (somewhat difficult for armless Sheldon). Life goes smoothly until a human family buys the house. The father is a musician, the mother is an artist, oldest son Charlie is a great reader, and Bebe, an infant, wails all night long. (Dad is light-skinned, Mom is brown-skinned, and the little ones are tan-skinned.) These humans disturb the original inhabitants in every way, and the two become determined to scare the people off, but either the ghost and the snake aren't really scary, or the family members are just too blasé to notice their efforts. There's a lot to pay attention to here--the main text, panels full of details and visual humor, and the speech bubbles. The cartoonish, digital art is appealing. The snake and the ghost make lots of onomatopoeic noises (hence the title), and the humans do, too. Kids who read this aloud to themselves will chuckle, although occasionally a joke may elude the intended audience, like "When does a joke become a 'dad' joke?" "When it becomes apparent." Somewhat sophisticated, able young readers are the best audience, as the format makes it a difficult read-aloud. A funny scary story in a graphic chapter book format. (Graphic chapter book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.