The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam

My 4 year old loves this book because it is suspenseful with a healthy dose of humor. I love reading it to him because it's fun to read and not too long or too short for his attention span. He quickly memorized the parts where they list off the food (always makes me hungry too). This is a great book for kids who don't take spooky stuff too seriously.

This book is such a joy on several levels. A chef and would-be restaurant owner overcomes his fear and stays the night in a haunted house so that he can collect a cash reward. He makes peace with the resident ghost in the only way possible--by providing an abundant supply of goodies like six kinds of pies and especially that batter-dipped fish. After accomplishing what no others would dare, the chef achieves his dream and even finds a partner in the ghost. The words read like a musical, in a special southern-U.S. way, and the pictures are great. We found this book in the local NY Public library. It was such a favorite of ours, last year my son insisted that I read it to his entire kindergarten class. The kids were completely spellbound by the story. After having checked it out of the library many times, we decided this one was worth owning. Highly recommended.

I'm a teacher for preschoolers, and this is a favorite with my class. The language is poetic and you almost can't help speaking with a bit of a Texan drawl while reading it aloud. It is DEFINITELY spooky--how would you react to seeing "just the head of a man" across a misty lake, with a ghost whispering, "I'm the ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam, I'm on the lake, near the man"? While it's spooky, it isn't generally so frightening most 4 year olds can't handle reading it, but engaging enough that 9 year old siblings like it too. And while it's spooky, it does not have violence, grossness, or gore, either. I really like the "surprise" ending with Dan's clever solution on how to deal with this frightening apparition. I won't give it away in case there's any young readers reading this ad, but Dan finds a solution to Sifty Sifty Sam's haunting of the old house that's rather kind, generous, and mutually beneficial--it's a true happy ending.

My daughter age 9 loved this book, we both especially liked that the ghost wanted to be friends, was lonely and hungary. Since we both like to cook it was especially funny it turned out to be a restaurant in the end. I would definatley recommend this one for a nice moral ending to a book.

My six-year-old daughter loves this book! And as a ghost fancier myself, I have to say I loved Jacqueline Roger's eerie, atmospheric illustrations and Medearis's prose. We're looking for more books by this author and illustrator.