Module 6: The Ghost-Eye Tree by Bill Martin, Jr and John Archambault Illustrated by Ted Rand

Summary: One cold autumn night, a mother asks her two children to run to the edge of town to retrieve a bucket of milk for her. The young boy and older sister set out on their journey. The older sister makes fun of her brother for wearing a silly hat. They pass the old ghost-eye tree without any hesitation. They retrieve the milk from Mr. Cowlander, the milkmen and make their way back to their home. As they are passing the ghost-eye tree they see a ghost and take off running. The older sister spills some milk and the younger brother loses his hat. His sister is brave enough to retrieve his hat for him telling him that his hat was beautiful. She tells her brother that they will have to keep it a secret from their mother and refill the milk with water. They make it home and from that day on the younger brother hides when his mother needs milk late at night.

Citation: Martin, B.J. & Archambault, J. (1985). The Ghost-eye tree. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.   

Impressions: I like this this book was written in poetry form. The words rhymed even when the brother and sister were talking. The illustrations were dark and detailed. I thought that maybe the characters should be given a name but other than that it was a great story about an older sister taking care of her brother. I liked how she told him his hat was stupid in the beginning but then felt bad when he lost it. She told him it was beautiful and was brave enough to get it for him even if she was just as scared of the tree. I was just wondering though, why would a mother send her kids in the dead of night across town on foot to get milk? How about waiting till the morning? Just a thought.

Reviews:

"A top-notch hair-raiser that will do for any old night of the year, but will really spike a Halloween story hour." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Deep, dark pictures of a windy, cloudy, spooky night provide the appropriate atmosphere for this tantalizingly told story-poem about a brother and sister who are sent out at night to fetch a pail of milk." --Booklist

"A delightfully alarming story poem about a dark and windy night when a boy and his sister are sent on an errand and must pass a certain tree that moans and reaches out its arms, freezing their hearts with fear. Strong, exciting illustrations make it all real. The poem would be especially good read aloud." --The New Yorker

Retrieved from Amazon.com

Suggestions: This would fit in a Halloween or scary story theme. The library could hold readings of scary stories, such as ghost stories, personal or from a book. The event could feature students sharing their stories with one another or the librarian reading different ghost story books.