Jinnie Ghost - Hardcover

Jane Ray's distinctive style has established her as a highly successful artist both for her paintings and her wrapping paper and cards. Increasingly well known as an illustrator, her picture books have attracted enormous attention around the world. The illustrator of Ahmed and the Feather Girl, she lives in London.

Kindergarten-Grade 2–Jinnie Ghost appears at nighttime, flitting through childrens rooms and leaving dreams in her wake. The youngsters dreams are custom-fit to their desires: a boy with a monster action figure dreams of giants; a witchy girl flies to Mars on a broomstick; and in a room like the sea, a girl swims with dolphins as a mermaid sits on a coral chest, combing her hair. As Jinnie Ghost leaves each home, variations of the refrain are repeated, Jinnie Ghost! Jinnie Ghost! the unicorn calls/but she doesnt turn her head, if she hears him at all. In the morning she is gone, leaving the children to wake brushing wonder from their eyes. The text switches between free and rhyming verse, creating a melodic feel. The haunting nature of the story is mirrored in the pictures, partially created through collage. Deep, vibrant colors saturate each page, contrasting with Jinnies ghostly white, translucent body and icy blue eyes. While most of the illustrations are rich in detail and color, the eyes are distinctly flat. This may be intentional since all of the children are dreaming and Jinnie is a ghost. Both the art and the story are unique and children who are not easily frightened may enjoy the idea of a ghost traveling through their rooms at night, leaving them with fanciful dreams.–Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR
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