Ghosts for Breakfast

by Stanley Todd Terasaki, Shelly Shinjo (Illustrator)

When the Troublesome Triplets complain that they have seen ghosts in Farmer Tanaka's field, Papa sets off with his son to hunt the ghosts in this fun story set in 1920s California.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mr. Omi, Mr. Omaye, and Mr. Ono (oh me, oh my, oh no...these three are worriers!) come to the door, they say there are ghosts in Farmer Tanaka's field. Papa brings his son to investigate. The son (who is the narrator) feels quite frightened...something white is floating in the air and there is howling through the wind. It must be ghosts!....Or could it be something else entirely?

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an entertaining story! It provides a little bit of history (especially when you read the author's note at the beginning), a little bit of culture (gotta love daikon radish!), a little bit of humor (we loved the Troublesome Triplets - Oh me! Oh my! Oh no!), and a not-too scary ghost story along the way. The story was terrific and the illustrations complement it nicely. We really enjoyed reading this story together. It would be a perfect summer ghost story for children who aren't quite ready for the scary tales.

[Julianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute picture book definitely made me laugh, though partly due to my familiarity with the Japanese culture. Not sure if others without the same familiarity will enjoy quite as much, but think it's definitely worth the read!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Ghosts for Breakfast" by Stanley Todd Terasaki is about three triplets that come knocking on the door of the narrator's home that they have seen ghosts! Papa takes his son to see the ghosts while the wind gusts making a "wooooo!" sound. The son sees the ghosts and is terrified and wanting to go back. He begins running back to the road. Then, Papa starts laughing. They were white radishes dangling and making the "wooooo!" sound.

This book was found on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjmw4...

This story exemplifies overcoming your fears and sometimes the thoughts we have in our head are completely wrong. It is also about facing your fears. It is a great story for Halloween time as well as a supplement for an SEL lesson for K-3.

[Sarahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book while searching for a historical fiction text on Lee&Low.com. I then found a read aloud version of it on YouTube. The read aloud was well done and read as a Halloween read aloud. Although I normally like when read alouds show more of the text&illustrations rather than the reader it was still of good quality. The book itself was a great book to possibly use for a lesson on facing your fears or possibly teaching students to not follow the crowd and making your own discoveries.

[SL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up simply bc the title had me guessing! Edible ghosts? Explain pls! This was an interesting story about a young boy venturing off with his father to check out the ghosts that are apparently haunting a farmer's field. There is a surprise twist that I didn't expect, and it was fun (and it perfectly explains the title of the book).

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boys crazy neighbors come over freaked out because they think they've seen a ghost. The boy and his father go to investigate and find that the "ghosts" are actually a bunch of white radishes. They take the radishes home and have them for breakfast.

[Malia · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just know the author of this book was told this story by someone in his family before, which I love. I also love that it's basically a father lovingly trolling his son.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read aloud that the whole family enjoyed. Spooky at times (but not "too spooky" for my child) and a hilarious ending.

[Brianna Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing and funny book that i thoroughly enjoyed reading. The story of this scary creature or thing outside is thrilling and interesting to read. The three male characters in the book are funny and also slightly annoying what with their persistence and panicked nature. However, the pictures that accompanied the story were very beautiful and lovely to look at, also they depicted the words on the pages very nicely. The ending of the story was hilarious and I find this book to be a fun one to read to children during maybe halloween time or when trying to teach them about fear. I can definitely seeing myself reading this book again because the story was so interesting.

[Allison McGill]

Ghosts for Breakfast by Stanley Todd Terasaki is a Realistic Fiction book because most of what happens could happen in real life. The target audience of this book would be primary because it talks about being scared of things and although older children can be afraid of things, this is geared more towards younger children and facing fears.

Text to text: I would pair this book with The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone because it plays on being afraid of what might happen by the time you get to the end of the book. They both touch base on being scared of things and how just because you see things one way doesn’t mean that’s the way things really appear.

Text to self: I love the book The Monster at the End of this Book so when I found the book, Ghosts for Breakfast, I knew I would like it. I used to be very afraid of the dark when I was little and as you get older you see how things really aren’t as scary as they seem. I really enjoyed both of these books.

Text to world: Ghosts for Breakfast is based on a story in California in the 1920’s when World War I was just about to begin and the U.S decided to stop letting Asian immigrants into the country. I feel like this book was not just talking about being afraid of ghosts but maybe about what could be in their future being Asian-Americans. There are fears much greater than just being afraid of the dark or ghosts.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghosts for Breakfast by Stanley Todd Teraski is an unusual ghost story picture book. The Troublesome Triplets are always complaining and causing trouble. Papa decides to investigate and the young protagonist reluctantly agrees to go along.

The walk through the night shows how ordinary things can take on extraordinary properties at night when an over active imagination takes charge. This book would be good for any child who is perhaps afraid of the dark. It could be used in conjunction with an actual walk at night to explore the back yard or local neighborhood block.

Shelly Shinjo's painted illustrations in dark blues, greens and luminous whites create the perfect atmosphere for this night time adventure. She uses a mixture of media including acrylic, joint compound and pastel.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is very fun. We especially like the triplets. They are so funny with their names and their concern for ghosts. My students loved the creepy elements with the fog & spooky noises.

This story also involves a food that I enjoy. I brought in a daikon to show my students since they weren't necessarily be familiar with them. I brought in some pickles that I prepared so they could see what they look like and know that these "pickles" are not the sweet or sour green items that they may have experienced before.

There is a recipe here: http://jarheadpickling.blogspot.com/2... so even if you don't make the pickles, readers can see what the process looks like and what they look like.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one held the kids' attention pretty well! It was spooky, and they were practically holding their breath as we read it. I heard an occasional whimper out of one or the other of them through the scary parts. But when the suspense was finally lifted, those kids laughed. They did enjoy this book, and it was fun to read out loud. Creative and fun story.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read. Loved the triplets names. Sam liked the ghost sound effects. Nice mini-introduction to another culture.

[Carlie Elson]

This story is about three Japanese triplets who have seen a ghosts in a field. They were complaining to Papa, so he decides to take his son and check it out. The son is very scared of the ghosts, but Papa helps him overcome his fears.