Reviews

The Ghost-Eye Tree by Bill Martin Jr., Ted Rand, John Archambault

audreychamaine's review against another edition

5.0

A young boy and his sister are sent to the other side of town to fetch milk. Halfway there, however, is the dreaded ghost-eye tree. Both kids try to act tough and not show that they’re scared, that is until the ghost-eye tree reaches out for them.

The illustrations are done in dark watercolors and give the book an ethereal, timeless feeling. The text is exceptionally well written, full of rhyme, repetition and rhythm.

reader44ever's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this story okay. I wasn't too enamored of the children's mother: making them go for milk after dark isn't sound parenting. But I liked the kids, and how they encouraged one another to conquer their fears. I especially liked that the sister teased her brother about his dumb hat but then, when he lost it, turned supportive and ran off to retrieve his beautiful hat, only to return to him with his dumb hat. :) This sibling relationship struck me as being very realistic and was reminiscent of my relationship with my own younger brother when we were children.

bdietrich's review

2.0

Read for 5420 class

I am on the fence concerning whether or not this book overcomes the gap in changes to daily life that have occurred over the past one hundred years. Yes, the theme of being scared (especially by nature in the dark) is universal, but so much prior knowledge is needed to understand a good chunk of the story that I think it would be difficult for children today to fully understand and grasp the content.