Closet Ghosts Book

Moving to a new place is hard enough without finding a bunch of mean, nasty ghosts in the closet. This looks like a job for Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god who can change shape in the blink of an eye and chase goblins and demons away with his thundering voice. When Hanuman answers Anu's plea for help, she rejoices — until she realizes those pesky ghosts don't seem to be going anywhere.

Uma Krishnaswami effortlessly weaves motifs from Indian mythology into this lively story, while Shiraaz Bhabha's exquisitely detailed acrylic paintings glow on the page.

Sheilah Egan - Children's Literature

Presenting a taste of the rich abundance of myths from India in a picture book about moving to a new house and going to a new school, is a task nicely accomplished in this story about Anu. Her parents assure Anu that she will soon feel at home in their new home and that she will quickly make new friends, but Anu misses her old neighborhood and her best friend, Mira. Only her little statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, gives her comfort when she discovers that it is hard to make new friends and, worst of all, that her closet is occupied by mischievous ghosts who like to try to upset her. When the monkey god appears at her window, Anu welcomes him, as a polite person should, with lemonade, peanuts, and fruit. Hanuman's appearance gives Anu confidence to try to make friends with the ghosts, but they rebuff her efforts to win their affection with a gift of flowers by ripping the offering to shreds. At school Anu does, indeed, begin to have friends and she hatches a new plan to befriend the ghosts. She decides to play music, sing, and dance to entertain the ghoulish creatures who find that "Funny-sunny people make us quiver-shiver." The ghosts depart and Anu bids Hanuman good-bye as he sets off to help someone else in need of guidance. The back matter includes a message from the author describing Hanuman and some of the poetry in the story. Bold, contemporary illustrations have a flavor of the origins of the story and show a wide variety of faces in the school children who become Anu's friends. This title will have a subtle impact as it exposes readers (listeners) to some aspects of Indian culture and a brave girl's efforts to deal with her own challenges—with a little help from themonkey god. 2006, Children's Book Press, Ages 6 to 8.