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MaiStoryBook: How to Make Friends with a Ghost + *If I Had a Ghost Friend…* Pop-up Craft

by MaiStoryBook

Introducing a Spooktacular Halloween read about Friendship that lasts a Lifetime *and beyond* in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection: 

“How to Make Friends with a Ghost” by Rebecca Green

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “How to Make Friends with a Ghost” to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ 5% of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)~

Book Synopsis and Review

If you are ever found by a ghost~ whatever you do, *DO NOT* scream and run away! That hurts the ghost’s feelings. Instead, *smile* and introduce yourself, for if you make friends with a ghost, you will have a friend forever...*and beyond.* So how do you make friends with a ghost? This ghostly guide, with input from Dr. Phantoneous Spookel, the leading ghost expert himself, will tell you everything you need to know about to *How to Make Friends with a Ghost.* From what to feed you ghost and what activities to do together, to how to get your ghost ready for bed and the best hiding spots for a ghost~ this detailed book will teach you what you need to know to take care of and treat your new friend right!

This is one of the most delightful read alouds to share during the Fall/Halloween season! Full of *spooky* puns, the narrative has a charming tone, and the clever word play on food names and activities to fit ghostly tastes will have littles giggling and guffawing. The illustrations and figures create a scientific presentation of information~ creating an excellent concoction of science fiction. The ghost friend is utterly adorable, and your heart-strings will sing as you witness the ghost and girl grow up together~ staying friends forever…*and beyond.* The last scene will send shivers (the good, sweet kind) down your spine as you see what *and beyond* truly means to ghost friends. Prepare to have your little ones prepping snacks and ghost-proofing their room for a ghost to come into their lives. Completely reversing the narrative of ghosts as creepy and scary, this Halloween read with have children hoping to be found by a ghost and longing for a ghost friend of their very own!

Vocabulary

  • frightened (p. 1) scared
  • transparent (p. 6) you can see through it, see-through
  • cauldron (p. 21) a large metal pot with handles used for cooking over a fire, usually used by witches to make potions
  • eerie (p. 23) creepy and strange
  • hazards (p. 29) things that are dangerous

Themes/Main Idea

  • Friends look for friends who are warm, kind, and sweet. Friends take care of friends, forever and always.
  • An excellent model for how-to writing. Detailed example of how to add figures, charts, and sections to writing.

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example

Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of “How to Make Friends with a Ghost” – how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

*~Check it Out~*

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*If I Had a Ghost Friend…* Pop-Up Craft

Were you scared of ghosts as a child? Or maybe you still are now? I was spooked by ghosts for a short period of my childhood ( My main terror was kidnappers at nighttime breaking through my window…). But I remember being in a hotel with my family, and watching a ghost special on TV where people were sharing real-life ghost encounters~ explaining bizarre circumstances and occurrences that could only have possibly been the doings of the supernatural. That night, I stayed up, staring unblinking at a vase of fake leaves on top of the dresser, *just waiting for it to move.* That would be my proof that ghosts exist. I sincerely expected it to move and was absolutely terrified but wouldn’t dare close my eyes incase I missed it. Better to know a ghost is there than fall asleep and have a ghost hover nearby unknowingly! This is a book I definitely could have used that night. Then perhaps, instead of sitting tense with eyes bugged out, I would have been staring at the pot of plants with a smile on my face, ready to introduce myself, ghost snacks in hand. Although, as the story goes, you don’t find a ghost~ *they find you.* So if you and your littles *happen to be found by a ghost,* then this week’s craft, inspired by the story, will help you prepare to make lifetime – and beyond- friends with your new ghost! Check it out below!

Materials

Directions

  • Choose a Ghost Template: B&W or Color. Each version has different template headings available: “How _____ Makes Friends with a Ghost,” “How to Make Friends With a Ghost,” “If I had a Ghost Friend”
  • Print out and Color in if you chose black and white. Cut out the ghost. 
  • If you chose the “How _____ Makes Friends with a Ghost” template, write your name on the blank space.
  • Cut the ghost in half on the dotted line. 
  • Next, choose an inside-writing template. There are color and black and white versions with two different border options: spider web or fall leaves borders
  • For each writing template version, there are 6 different template options: Prompts with picture and labels, Prompts with sentence frames, prompts with all lines, prompts with a line and empty picture space, prompts with blank space, Blank with no prompts
  • Print and cut out the template. *KEEP THE SMALL WHITE TOP AND BOTTOM RECTANGLE TABS ON*
  • Fill in the template to share how you would take care of your ghost friend
  • Fold the“Inside Template” on the lines : 3 lines = 3 folds. Fold the top section down, and then ”accordion fold” the rest. 
  • To connect the “Inside Template” tothe ghost, fold the top tab back, and tape the top tab to the back of the bottom of the top half of the “Ghost”
  • Fold the bottom tab back. Then tape/glue the tab to the back of the top of the bottom half of the “Ghost”
  • The “Ghost”should fold together to join the top half and the bottom half of the “Ghost,”and then unfold to show all 4 sections when the lid is lifted.

Enjoy Your “If I Had a Ghost Friend…” Pop-Up Craft

  • Share your pop-up craft with a family member or friend and tell them how you would take care of a ghost
  • Share your pop-up ghost craft with a family member or friend and ask them what they would do to take care of a ghost
  • Use your craft to help you prepare for a ghost to find you
  • Use your craft to help you craft a pretend-play with a ghost friend: prepare snacks, hiding spots, ghostly activities, a ghost bed
  • Re-read the story and use your craft to make your own suggestions as to how you would care for the ghost as you read about the different advice in the book

*~Overall, as always, I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, and are ready to enjoy some Fall/Halloween *spooktacular* fun! Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary, Twitter @MaiStoryBook  – post on FaceBook – or contact me via email to share your own *If I had a Ghost Friend…* Crafts and your own reading adventures! I’d love to hear from you and learn more about you!~*

*~Until next time, Happy Reading~