Ghosts and Other Spirits of the Dead is part of the Not Near Normal: The Paranormal series for kids. The series has six books on spooky topics ranging from aliens to zombies. I love ghost stories -- even ones for kids -- so when I saw my local library had just added this to their digital site, I had to read it! I'm always looking for interesting books for my grand kids or to give as gifts to friends' kids, but I always read them myself first. Especially if they are spooky!

This book is very visually appealing. Each story is illustrated with full-color photos and artwork with varied page layouts. The stories are set in the US and UK with intersting locations like an aircraft carrier and even a haunted road. Some of the tales are well-known like the phantom hitchhiker, the Brown Lady and a demon cat.

The stories are age appropriate for elementary age students....spooky but not overly scary. Each book in this series has a glossary of spooky terms from the stories, a bibliography, a short suggested reading list and a weblink for kid who want more information. I could see this series having some fun classroom applications...from writing prompts to fun, supplementary reading at Halloween. A student who loves ghost stories but who is a reluctant reader might really benefit from this series.

I'm definitely going to read more of these books and buy a couple titles for my grand kids! Very entertaining!
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A brief children's book about ghosts, poltergeists, and different types of hauntings. It has a lot of good pictures that would grab the attention of the kids, but I felt that it was too short. I think the author could of made it about 10-20 pages longer. The paranormal is becoming mainstream now and it is not unusual like it was when I was in my tween years. I think there is much more interest in ghosts and monsters so many more people would purchase the book. I enjoyed the brief stories and I liked how the author provided ghosts stories that occurred both on land and sea. This really gave variety to the book. I highly recommend this book for teachers that have interested students around the Halloween holiday. I think this book would be a fun addition to any extra reading time, etc. It is not scary and would be good for kiddos in the 8 to 10 age group. My only hang up is the length. It is just a bit too short for me and I honestly think children would stay interested in the stories if the author were to add a couple more. ( )