THE ONLY GHOST AT SUMMER CAMP

Little Ghostie’s struggles to fit in continue during a summertime stay at Camp Smithville.

Just as in the simultaneously issued Only Ghost in School, the awkward reactions of other, living children leave Ghostie feeling sad and conscious of his differences. Having to stay onshore while the other campers splash in Lake Winkapoo (because water is bad for ghosts) and getting sunburned because he forgot to apply his “cala-slime” potion (“I felt like such a ghoul”) only add to his misery. Worse, after a clueless counselor’s campfire story freaks everyone else out and reinforces the annoying “ghosts are scary” stereotype, he’s even more haunted by feelings of otherness. Hannon once more explores serious themes in a palatably light, even playful way. In color illustrations that brighten nearly every page of Ghostie’s simply written narrative, she poses her doughy, diaphanous protagonist with a racially diverse cast of wide-eyed fellow campers—who all react with slapstick panic when Ghostie’s outgoing, ectoplasmic parents suddenly float in to mount a charm offensive and to lead everyone in a series of bonding games capped by a cathartic Howling Ceremony beneath the full moon.

A spooktacular sequel? “Abso-BOO-tely!”