The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt

Riel Nason

Sep 2020 · Sold by Tundra Books

About this ebook

When you're a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! An adorable picture book for fans of Stumpkin and How to Make Friends with a Ghost.

Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can't whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot.

He doesn't know why he's a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn't really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can't keep up.

But one Halloween, everything changes. The little ghost who was a quilt has an experience that no other ghost could have, an experience that only happens because he's a quilt . . . and he realizes that it's OK to be different.

Ratings and reviews

Being Different Opens Up Possibilities The little ghost who was a quilt usually feels left out and different from his ghost friends. His parents tried to cheer him up by telling about relatives who were a red-checked tablecloth and a lace curtain. But that doesn't seem to help. All the ghosts look forward to Halloween. Those made of regular sheets can simply hover in the trees and watch the festivities. But the quilt ghost is too heavy to hover and usually hangs out on a clothesline. But the views aren't the best, so he devises a plan to fold himself up on a porch so he can see the action. But at the house he chooses, the mother of the first little girl who comes to the door mistakes him for a regular quilt and uses him to wrap up the cold child. They take him home, where he sees the candy sorting process. After the mother folds him up and puts him on the couch, he disappears up the chimney when she leaves and returns to his friends. They are quite interested to hear about his up-close adventure with humans. This book is all about being comfortable if you differ from those around you, especially in visible ways. The quilt ghost certainly feels the limitations of his unique circumstance early in the book, but his unique look allows him to have an experience that no other ghost has had or could have. I thought the book ended abruptly. I would have liked the book’s theme to have been explored for a few more pages so the little ghost is clear on the lesson and empowered. The illustrations in this book are mostly dark—very dark. The only splashes of color pretty much are the blue patches that make up the quilt ghost, bits of orange in some leaves and the pumpkins, and the ballerina dress of the little girl. I would have liked to have seen more splashes of color even if the basic feel remained dark, which is appropriate for Halloween. This would certainly make a nice Halloween book for a child who is feeling put down about being different. I wonder, though, if the book is somewhat limited in its use because of the strong holiday theme. All in all, I thought this was a relatively decent book about being different. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

About the author

RIEL NASON is a Canadian novelist and textile artist. Her acclaimed debut novel The Town That Drowned won the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe, and the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. Riel's original quilts have been exhibited across Canada; she is best known for her whimsical selvage quilts and bold use of color, and she has published two books on the subject: Modern Selvage Quilting and Sew a Modern Halloween. Riel grew up in Hawkshaw, New Brunswick, and now lives in Quispamsis, NB, with her husband, son, daughter and cats.

BYRON EGGENSCHWILER is an illustrator living in Calgary, Alberta. He is the illustrator of Operatic, by Kyo Maclear, Coyote Tales by Thomas King and Beastly Puzzles by Rachel Poliquin. Byron has also done illustrations for the New York Times, The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, GQ and others. He shares a home with his wife and two soft cats.