There’s a young girl in this house who would love to invite you in, as she’s all alone and hasn’t had visitors for quite a while. It’s a very large house with lots of rooms. She thinks the house is haunted but she has never seen a ghost. She isn’t quite sure what a ghost looks like, but she’d like to see one. She takes us through the halls of her home with the old-fashioned furniture and the beautiful chandeliers. She tells us she’s looked up in the attic and behind the wardrobe and even under the bed twice, but no ghosts. She’s even checked up the chimney!
But we can see them. Oliver Jeffers has cleverly designed it so that we can see them hiding in every room in the house, every time we turn a translucent page, there they are! I have turned the pages of this book so many times. Not only for the story but for the beauty of the rooms that have been put together. Every page is a work of art with black and white photos of furniture overlaying his illustrations of rooms.
To read this book with young children is magical. To show it to the older ones brings a tremendous appreciation of how uniquely clever it is. Interestingly the author was very pleased to discover that the collective noun for ghosts is ‘a fraid’ of ghosts.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Oliver Jeffers is a visual artist and author working in painting, bookmaking, illustration, collage, performance, and sculpture.
Curiosity and humor are underlying themes throughout Oliver’s practice as an artist and storyteller.
While investigating the ways the human mind understands its world, his work also functions as comic relief in the face of futility. Jeffers’ engagements and practice are truly international in scope. His critically acclaimed picture books have been translated into over 50 languages and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.
His original artwork has been exhibited at such institutions as the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Palais Auersperg in Vienna.
Jeffers has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award, Bologna Rigazzi Award, An Irish Book Award, a United Kingdom Literary Association Award, and an MBE from Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth for Special Services to the Arts.
Oliver grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he currently divides his time with Brooklyn, NY.
Read a book review of Meanwhile Back on Earth by Oliver Jeffers.
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