Ghost, Ghoul, and Little Mouse: A Halloween Tale of Friendship and Fun

By Author / Illustrator

Graham Howie

Genre

Seasonal

Age range(s)

Publisher

OUP

ISBN

9781382064040

Format

Paperback

Published

03-09-2026

Synopsis

A charming and humorous Halloween adventure about friendship, teamwork, and finding your place. This delightful story follows a lonely little mouse who discovers that sometimes the best way to make friends is through a little clever thinking.

Little Mouse lives alone in a dark, creaky old house. He dreams of having friends to share meals with, play games with, and enjoy adventures alongside. But life is quiet and lonely - until two unexpected housemates arrive. When Ghost and Ghoul move in, they are so busy arguing that they barely notice Little Mouse at all. Both are convinced they deserve to be the house's official haunter and to settle the dispute, they decide to hold a competition to determine who is the scariest.

As the rivalry grows more ridiculous, Little Mouse watches from the sidelines. But he may have a clever surprise in store. With a little creativity and a lot of heart, he shows Ghost and Ghoul that friendship can be far more important than winning.

Filled with gentle humour, playful spooky fun, and endearing characters, this story is perfect for young readers who enjoy light-hearted Halloween tales with a positive message exploring friendship, kindness, and the importance of including others. Charming artwork brings the story's spooky setting and characters to life.

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Reviews

Sue

Mouse lives all alone in a dark, creaking house at the top of a hill. Longing for some friends, he is delighted when two unexpected visitors arrive. Ghost and Ghoul both think that the house is perfect for them and are so busy arguing about how best to haunt it that they fail to notice Little Mouse with his welcome sign and the delicious cake he has made to share. Whilst Ghost and Ghoul decide to hold a scare-off to see which one of them manages to frighten a passing bear the most, Little Mouse watches from the side lines, trying to catch their attention. Eventually, he gives up . . . with surprising results, and the three become firm friends!

The perfect gently scary story for Hallowe’en, Ghost, Ghoul and Little Mouse is a spook-tacular read! All sweet Little Mouse wants are some friends to share things with. Lonely in the house on the hill, he is quick to welcome others and is understandably hurt when Ghost and Ghoul are so busy arguing that they ignore all his friendly overtures. Readers will empathise with his feelings whilst enjoying the ridiculous antics of Ghost and Ghoul as they completely fail to scare Bear.

The illustrations are wonderful, making great use of colour to complement the spooky season. For those of us who hate the idea of 'Trick or Treat'-ing, stories offer wonderful possibilities for engaging children with fun activities. In this case, children might enjoy inventing a range of 'spooky' events or games, leading to their gaining certificates in Horrifying Haunting like Ghost and Ghoul! They could create their own board game, Ghosts and Ghouls, based on Snakes and Ladders, or play 'pin the hat' on either one of them! The illustrations give endless ideas for decorations - and for baking a cake like Little Mouse! Or perhaps some Ghost or Ghoul shaped biscuits! Great fun!

Picture book / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher

Jen

Little Mouse lives all by himself in an old, run-down house. That is, until a Ghost and a Ghoul move in. Little mouse is excited but Ghost and Ghoul don't see him at all; they are too busy arguing. But Little Mouse eventually shows that being little can be big.

Ghost, Ghoul, and Little Mouse is a sweet story that ends in unlikely friendships. It will be a great story for this year's Halloween season that will be read and re-read long after. The pops of orange in all the illustrations help to make sure a book about scaring, ghouls and ghosts is not scary at all. A real triumph.

Picture book / Reviewed by Jen Bevan, teacher