Jake was excited to be at the fair. When his sister and her boyfriend left him, he headed straight to the scariest ride he could find: the ghost train. Just as the ride was ending, a ghost popped out and made Jake laugh. When the ghost train owner learned his ghost wasn't scary, he fired him. Jake felt bad and took the ghost on lots of rides. With Jake racing from ride to ride, it was the ghost who got scared.
We planned to read a couple of chapters each night, and without fail, our child wanted to "read more" each evening. Interestingly, though, the ending didn't stick with her, because she didn't remember it and wanted us to read it again.
This is a cute story, with a nice twist on the lets-get-scared theme. The Ghost Inspector adds some fun, as well. Although Jake has a major role, the star of the show is the ghost. The author doesn't dwell on the fact that Jake caused the ghost to lose his job, so there is no written remorse. This is a story that is crafted to help young readers develop vocabulary and practice reading longer books. There is plenty of repetition (without being obvious about it) for reinforcing reading skills. For younger readers/listeners, you can also draw out themes of friendship, responsibility, and respect.
