Magic Flashlight: Ghost Hunt: With invisible ink and UV flashlight

by Isabel Otter, Kathryn Selbert (illustrator)

16 pages, Board Book

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

Isabel Otter is a children's book editor and writer. She grew up in rural Herefordshire and is happiest climbing mountains in muddy boots. Isabel loves weaving stories and writing about the world around her.

Reviews

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://yabookscentral.com/magic-flas...

GHOST HUNT is a fun, interactive board book. The Halloween-themed search includes several cute scenes around a haunted house, graveyard, and more. An included light is used to reveal hidden ink with images of ghosts, wind, footprints, and more on each and every page spread.

What I loved: This is a cute Halloween book with adorable holiday-themed scenes. Smiling creatures and fun details keep the story light and pleasant. Rhyming text on each page adds to the experience and is pleasing to the ear to hear read aloud. Even if the flashlight is not being used, the images are still very detailed and fun to listen to on their own.

The invisible ink element is very cool and unique. The flashlight will be best used by slightly older board book readers, such as preschoolers (or caregivers who are reading aloud). If you tilt the pages in the regular light, you can kind of see where they are, which helps in guiding the flashlight.

Final verdict: GHOST HUNT is an engaging interactive board book that will work well for young readers who enjoy rhyming text, Halloween, and search-and-find images.

Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

[YSBR]

This is a fantastic holiday board book. The pages are incredibly bright and colorful. The witches, skeletons, monsters, and ghosts all come to life in silly animated illustrations. Each flip of the page brings a new scene of Halloween; a graveyard, a haunted house, a cave with bats, and more. The verse is in rhyme and will be a great read aloud. 

Otter has not only conjured up a fun storyline but has also included a search and find with a catch! The book comes with an UV flashlight to use to see the 50 invisible creatures scattered throughout the pages. This book will make a great Halloween offering. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Barbara]

Youngsters will love using the small flashlight included with this board book [2.5 for me!] as they look for more than 50 spooky beings hidden on its pages. The flashlight enables them to see what's lurking but has been hidden through the use of invisible ink and ultraviolet. Rhyming lines and scary scenes make readers want to hurry up and find these spooky creatures before something bad happens. But the final pages reveal that there's a very different ending in sight despite all those boos, hisses, and shrieks. This book is fun to read aloud, especially if performed with just the right voice and pace.

[Bethany Hanson]

Connor (4yrs) absolutely loves this book + activity of searching for all the hidden pictures.