See the Ghost: Three Stories about Things You Cannot See

by David LaRochelle
illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Candlewick Press, July 2023
Ages: Preschool to Grade 3
ISBN 978–1536219821
The Geisel Award-winning creators of See the Cat and See the Dog are back! This time, Max the dog and Baby Cakes the cat are grappling with some curious things they can’t see.
See the wind blow the leaves.
See the wind blow the leaves off the page.
See the wind blow the dog off the page.
In a new trio of stories, Max and Baby Cakes encounter a scare-happy ghost who has a run-in with a mirror, the wind at its blustery best, and a teeny-tiny fairy with a wayward wand who may have met her match. Beginning readers will laugh out loud when they “see” these invisible things that go “Boo!,”“Whoosh!,”and “Hey! … Will you let me back into the book?”
Resources
Read a conversation between David and Mike as they discuss the creation of this book, and view a unique piece of artwork from Mike.
Reviews
“Simple sentences follow a predictable pattern for those developing their reading skills, but the stories’ action always takes a delightfully unexpected turn. Through the clever use of speech bubbles and Wohnoutka’s delightful, inventive illustrations, three invisible things are animated and given tremendous personality. It is a remarkable feat to pack so many genuine laughs into such a simple text for emerging readers. In the vein of its predecessor, See the Dog: Three Stories about a Cat (2021), there is delightful interaction between the characters and the reader and even a meta-commentary between the characters and the book itself that assumes a flattering intelligence in its child reader. This Geisel-winning series keeps the bar high with this newest installment. Not only does it set beginning readers up for success with repetition and context clues galore, but it entertains to its very core.” (Booklist, starred review)
“Big laughs from this early reader. Broken into three stories, LaRochelle’s accessible text will inspire confidence and giggles in new readers. Wohnoutka’s gouache, comics-inspired illustrations use speech balloons to ratchet up the humor while providing context cues to support emerging decoding skills and ample white space for resting the eyes. Ironic counterpoint between art and text is an immediate source of comedy … See the star? Buy the book.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)