Review: Aggie and the Ghost
- amiller8979
- Oct 1
- 2 min read
by Amber Miller
September 28, 2025
Aggie’s new house is haunted. At first, she'd been excited to live on her own, but now “the ghost follows her everywhere.” Setting rules for it (“No haunting after dark. No stealing my socks. And no more eating all the cheese”) only leads to a lot of broken rules. A frustrated Aggie challenges the ghost to a game of tic-tac-toe; if it loses, it will have to move out.
In Aggie and the Ghost, author and illustrator Matthew Forsythe creates a smart female protagonist who reassesses her needs, learns how to problem-solve, and mostly gets what she wants (introverts, the clever ending is for you). The story’s repetition and brief sentences will appeal to beginning readers, and the double-page-spread art is nicely measured, particularly at page-turns. As for the expressive characters, Aggie’s gnome-like appearance is endearing, with the shapeshifting ghost playing a whimsical counterpart. Forsythe’s style of aesthetically pleasing, textured watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations features a soft palette of fall colors, especially fitting for this slightly spooky tale. Bonus: readers will enjoy spotting the ghost's eye throughout.
Released in August 2025, Aggie and the Ghost was one of my most anticipated picture books of 2025! I’m predicting a nomination come ALA award season. Companion hands-on activities inspired by Aggie and the ghost include:
Tic Tac Toe:
Playing an epic game of tic-tac-toe with classmates, friends, or family and inventing classroom/house rules for the game, just like Aggie
Ghost Snack Recipes:
Creating a "superstitious and nutritious" recipe for a ghost snack, like mud tarts or earwax truffles.
Rule Creation:
Boost your classroom community and support SEL by discussing and writing down a list of classroom rules, such as "No haunting after dark," which translates into level zero or no talking when the classroom lights are turned off. Take it a step further by imagining how a ghost might break them and creating consequences.
Drawing and Art:
Sketching or painting scenes from the book, focusing on the humor and visual gags in the illustrations, or creating your own "shapeshifting" ghosts!
Storytelling:
Write your own story about meeting a ghost, focusing on how you would establish rules or try to become friends with it.
Sharing and Friendship:
Discuss what it means to share a home or classroom and how to live with someone whose habits you find annoying, but who you also miss when they're gone.
This book quietly teaches children that it’s okay to choose friends based on shared values and boundaries. However, it also shows that even when those things don’t align, we can still find healthy and joyful ways to connect – like playing tic-tac-toe. I highly recommend adding this one to your shelf.