The Ghost Who Was A Quilt by Riel Nason

"Once there was a little ghost who was a quilt." This little ghost was different from his parents who were both sheets and who flew high and fast because they were so light. They could glide and float on the wind, unlike the little ghost who was weighed down by his heavy quilt fabric. His many layers made flying difficult.

Ghosts are terrified of people. So one day when people came to the park where the little ghost and his friends were, they quickly flew away. But the little ghost was not so quick. Instead, he draped himself over a bench. A family sat down on the bench and the little ghost was terrified. Even worse, the little boy sitting on the bench, eating an ice cream cone, dripped melted ice cream onto him!

The stain made the little ghost embarrassed and different, which he did not like. He didn't like that he was made of different pieces of fabric, which made his friends call him "Scrappy". What he did like was Halloween. 

Usually at Halloween, while the other ghosts pretended to be decorations in the trees so they could watch the goings-on, the little ghost had to place himself on a clothesline. But this year he decided to be bolder; he would lay over a chair on a porch!  In this way he would be very close to what was happening. But the little ghost had no idea just how close he would actually get to humans!

Discussion

There aren't too many picture books more delightful than The Ghost Who Was A Quilt. This sweet story about a ghost made, not from sheets but from a quilt touches on the themes of being different, not fitting in, self-acceptance and bullying.

The little ghost has trouble accepting himself. He's made from scraps of fabric to form a quilt while all the other ghosts are made from sheets. Even when he's told that his ancestors were a bit unusual, he still finds accepting himself as he is, difficult. "His mom told him he had an ancestor who was a checkered tablecloth. And he great-grandmother was an elegant lace curtain. Everyone said she was the most beautiful ghost they'd ever seen. Even knowing this, the little ghost didn't feel any better."

However, the ghost's experience around humans, who he had been taught to fear, emboldens him to place himself closer to the trick-or-treaters at Halloween. When he gets taken home by a little girl, the little ghost finds acceptance from the most unlikely of places - a human family. And he comes to understand that everything that happened was because he was different. He was a quilt that got picked up to keep a little girl warm. This story encourages children to embrace their uniqueness, that we all have a place in this world!

While the story alone certainly has its merits, it is the captivating illustrations by Byron Eggenschwiler that make this picture book so delightful. Eggenschwiler's artwork, rendered using pencil and digital techniques, capture the many emotions the little ghost experiences through each of his adventures. The Ghost Who Was A Quilt is not just a picture book for Halloween, but can be enjoy all year around.

Book Details:

The Ghost Who Was A Quilt by Riel Nason
New York:  Tundra Books      2020