Product Description

To win a $5000 reward, a chef named Dan agrees to stay in a haunted house overnight and when he meets a very hungry ghost, he gets more than he had expected.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #486670 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Amazon.com Review
It seemed like there was no one brave enough in all of East Texas to spend the night in the creepy old mansion haunted by Sifty Sifty Sam. Even the $5,000 reward wasn't enough for most folks to attempt such an ordeal. That is, until a determined chef named Dan, armed with only "a bushel of groceries, a slab of fatback, and a frying pan," gathers his courage and prepares to spend the night. What ensues is a frightful night in which the ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam makes a knee-knocking appearance, and Dan uses a daring combination of wit and soul food to make it to morning.

Angela Shelf Medearis has been voted one of the three best storytellers in the world by Storytelling World Magazine, and the original, enticing cadence of The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam could have won her the honor. The nontraditional rhyme scheme of this excellent read-aloud book lends itself to different rhythms, speeds, and pauses, timed perfectly with the pace of the action.

Jacqueline Rogers's beautiful watercolor paintings range from ghostly pale pastels to vibrant vegetable hues. Children will love her detail-rich drawings of the happy-faced foods, the contents of the ghost's see-through stomach, and the rodents hiding in every corner. A savory, humorous tale that is likely to make young readers more hungry than terrified, The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam is sure to become a year-round favorite for fans of both food and phantoms. (Ages 5 and older)

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3. Medearis freely borrows elements of traditional ghostly tales to concoct a new stew of old favorite ingredients. Some of the makings are: a haunted house no one can spend the night in; a reward offered for the brave person who can; a ghost who creeps in from the lake, calling out his location while getting closer and closer, and then assembles himself part by part until the whole creature is present, and is so fierce he can guzzle down a skillet full of hot grease (an element once used in the lyrics of an early rock 'n' roll song). How chef Dan gets the better of Sifty Sifty Sam is fairly innovative: he simply feeds the ghost so much delicious food that Sam is tamed?he even agrees to become the dishwasher in Dan's new cafe, the former haunted house. Rogers's masterful watercolors are filled with merry details?a family of possums emerging from the upholstery, Dan's gumbo wagon with dangling fishing tackle, smiling cucumbers and dancing chickens in lettuce skirts slipping down Sam's ghostly throat. Sam's face is a bit frightening at first but the scare quotient is still fairly low overall because of these jolly pictures. An excellent addition to the canon of campfire tales or storytimes.?Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Perfect for the young and ghoulish
My six-year-old daughter loves this book! And as a ghost fancier myself, I have to say I loved Jacqueline Roger's eerie, atmospheric illustrations and Medearis's prose. We're looking for more books by this author and illustrator.

A Great Spooky Book That's Fun!
I'm a teacher for preschoolers, and this is a favorite with my class.

The language is poetic and you almost can't help speaking with a bit of a Texan drawl while reading it aloud.

It is DEFINITELY spooky--how would you react to seeing "just the head of a man" across a misty lake, with a ghost whispering, "I'm the ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam, I'm on the lake, near the man"?

While it's spooky, it isn't generally so frightening most 4 year olds can't handle reading it, but engaging enough that 9 year old siblings like it too. And while it's spooky, it does not have violence, grossness, or gore, either.

I really like the "surprise" ending with Dan's clever solution on how to deal with this frightening apparition. I won't give it away in case there's any young readers reading this ad, but Dan finds a solution to Sifty Sifty Sam's haunting of the old house that's rather kind, generous, and mutually beneficial--it's a true happy ending.

Delightfully scary
My 4 year old loves this book because it is suspenseful with a healthy dose of humor. I love reading it to him because it's fun to read and not too long or too short for his attention span. He quickly memorized the parts where they list off the food (always makes me hungry too). This is a great book for kids who don't take spooky stuff too seriously.