Cool Ghoul! Ghoulia by Barbara Cantini

MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE SCARY.

And being a zombie doesn't help. A bit lonely, Ghoulia lives in Crumbling Manor with her Aunt Departed, her dog Tragedy, her Uncle Misfortune (unfortunately inconvenienced by being a severed head), and her Grandad Coffin, a ghost.

Ghoulia is warned not to let the village children see her, for fear that their parents might drive them from their home. But Ghoulia can't help want to play with the others

Still, being deathly pale with purple shadows under her eyes and detachable limbs, Ghoulia is pretty sure the neighborhood kids will guess that she is a zombie, so she watches secretly. But one day she overhears the kids excitedly talking about something called trick-or-treating, and the scary costumes--ghosts, vampires, witches-- they are planning to wear for Halloween. Ghoulia has an idea:

"Dressed up as a monster, I can join in the fun!"

So, as her zombie-self, Ghoulia sneaks out of Crumbling Manor, carrying Uncle Misfortune's head as a trick-or-treat bag and bravely introduces herself to a group of kids dressed as a werewolf, a ghost, a witch, a vampire and a zombie, and follows them through the village, collecting goodies. The kids begin to boast about how scary they are, and Ghoulia can't resist trying to impress her new friends.

She tossed her head in her hand, spun it around, and put it back on!

"You're a real Zombie!" a boy shrieked.

Ghoulia has clearly blown her cover, but her new friends are thrilled. Together they form the Secret Monster Society Club, swearing to remain mum to protect the identity of their new friend.

If Ghoulia could have, she would have blushed!

Barbara Cantini's first book,Ghoulia (Book 1) (Amulet Books), joins a long list of uncanny picture book characters of the monster persuasion, from Caspar the Friendly Ghost to Kristyn Crow's Zombelina and Anne Marie Pace's Vampirina Ballerina (Vampirina (1). Share this one along with Cantini's Ghoulia sequels, Ghoulia and the Mysterious Visitor (Book 2) and Ghoulia and the Ghost with No Name (Book 3). "Cantini’s detailed full-color drawings ramp up the comedy on every page with labels and asides, including a page from Ghoulia’s Halloween-prep journal. This well-paced series opener will work well as both a read-aloud and a humorous choice for newly independent readers," reports Publishers Weekly.