Oh my goodness! A Wee Boo is the cutest children’s book I’ve read in a long time.
This brand new book is being released today: September 13, 2022.
A Wee Boo
written by Jessica Boyd
illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan
Orca Book Publishers, Sept. 13/22
for ages Pre-school to Kindergarten
32 pages
A big thank you NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the advance review copy.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Synopsis:
Boo is a teeny tiny ghost who is trying very hard to earn her haunting credentials, but in order to do so she needs to actually scare someone. And that’s extremely hard for a ghost as small and cute as Boo.
She tries very hard and gives it all she’s got, but when all is said and done, Boo finally understands that scaring people might not be her thing.
She finds her true calling when she realizes she’d rather be an imaginary friend than a scary ghost.
Why I Love A Wee Boo:
First of all I adore the illustrations. I love the soft colour palette and thought it was so charming. And of course, who can resist Boo? She’s the most endearing little ghost ever!
The illustrator created her lovely art using an iPad Pro, scanned textures, watercolour washes and paper collage.
I think the results really speak for themselves!
I thought the plot was unique (ghosts needing to earn their haunting credentials) and I was surprised by the ending — all good things.
But what I liked the best about A Wee Boo was the message: It’s okay to be yourself and find your own way in the world.
Although Boo tries very hard to be a scary ghost, she finally realizes that’s not what she loves to do (never mind that she’s horrible at it 🙂 ) and she finds her own wonderful way to shine.
Story Extensions:
Ghost Art: Kate Williams on Crafts on Sea has directions for an easy and cute ghost painting. This is perfect for young ones up to Grade 1.
It’s pretty easy to see how it’s done just from the picture, but if you want more information be sure to visit her site. She also has a free ghost template.
Writing: If you do the art activity above with some first graders, then be sure to let them choose their own facial expression.
Afterwards they could write a brief sentence along the lines of, “Boo is happy/scared/disappointed/sad etc. because …”
Then attach their writing to the bottom of their painting.
Ghost Puppets: Puppets are always a blast to make. If you don’t want to make your own then I have a new set of Halloween paper bag puppets your kids might love!
Can you see the little ghost puppet below? She’d be perfect to go along with this book.
If you’re interested in purchasing them you can find them in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.
Discussion: Talk about what it means to “be yourself”. Give your students an example of a time where you were true to yourself.
For example, when I was younger my parents really encouraged me to get a degree in science or math. I loved those subjects but eventually realized what I really wanted to do was teach little kids. So I did and I couldn’t have been happier!
Encourage your students to share their own experiences. Perhaps they were in a community soccer league but then realized their true love was dancing.
Or maybe at recess one group of friends was inviting them to play tag, but another group wanted them to play an imaginary game of fairies and they chose the game based on which one genuinely appealed to them the most.
Provide time for the students to talk about “being true to yourself” in small groups or pairs and then invite whole class sharing.
Design a Ghost Certificate: In the book the scary ghosts earned their haunting credentials. Have your students design a certificate for Boo declaring her the best imaginary ghost friend.
That’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you give A Wee Boo a read. I really think your kids will love it!
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. 🙂
You’re very welcome, Jessica! It was my pleasure.
I hope you have great success with your adorable book!