- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Fantasy
How to Make Friends With a Ghost
A wry, tender mock how-to guide for looking after your very own ghost, from ghostly snacks to a lifelong friendship. Rebecca Green's gorgeous vintage-toned art makes a spooky premise feel utterly cosy and quietly moving.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Second person
Tone
- Whimsical
- Warm
- Gentle
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Ghosts, it turns out, make wonderful friends for life, and beyond. If you're lucky enough to have one find you, you'll need to know how to treat it right, and Rebecca Green's charming guidebook is here to help. Structured like a real how-to manual, it runs through Ghost Basics and the all-important do's and don'ts, moves on to Ghost Care (a nightly diet of fruit tarts is recommended), and finishes with Growing Together, gently following a child and her ghost through moving house, growing up and growing old side by side. Green's illustrations, all soft vintage tones and cosy detail, turn a spooky idea into something warm and reassuring, and the final pages carry a quiet emotional punch as the friendship endures across a whole lifetime. Witty, beautiful and unexpectedly tender, it is a gift-worthy picture book about care, loyalty and friendships that last forever.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A read-aloud for roughly 4 to 8s, with a witty how-to format young children adore and a tender closing note that resonates with older readers and adults. Gentle enough for sensitive children and a favourite for gifting.
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- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Friendly ghosts
- Not too spooky
- Beautiful illustrations
- Cosy read
- Giftable
Avoid if
- Wants high action
- Wants lots of plot
Particularly good for children who are…
- Nightmares or fears
- Making friends
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
It reads like a real instruction manual for looking after a ghost, right down to what snacks it likes, which is irresistibly fun. The ghost is gently spooky and endlessly loyal, and imagining having one of your very own is the whole delicious point.
- Secret world
- Friendship and belonging
- Cosy safety
Why parents love it
Rebecca Green's vintage-toned artwork is a pleasure to pore over, and the how-to conceit is genuinely witty. The closing pages, following a friendship across a whole lifetime, add a gentle emotional depth that adults will feel more than the youngest listeners.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Bedtime appropriate
- Conversation starter
About the author & illustrator
Rebecca Green.
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