What do you think?
Rate this book
Poultrygeist
Whoooooo!
A tall ghostly being is frightening the farm animals right out of the barn. It could only be the legendary "Poultrygeist." The animals are terrified to sleep inside the barn, but they're freezing out in the yard. What shold they do? It's up to two smart-aleck roosters who suspect fowl play to uncover the surprising secret behind the Halloween haunting in this hilarious tale.
A tall ghostly being is frightening the farm animals right out of the barn. It could only be the legendary "Poultrygeist." The animals are terrified to sleep inside the barn, but they're freezing out in the yard. What shold they do? It's up to two smart-aleck roosters who suspect fowl play to uncover the surprising secret behind the Halloween haunting in this hilarious tale.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
54 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Mary Jane Auch
48 books70 followersMary Jane Auch also writes as MJ Auch.
The thought of becoming a writer never occurred to MJ Auch as a child. Her only literary efforts in those days were the plays which she and her girlfriend, Noreen, wrote for their marionettes. They produced these extravaganzas in Noreen’s garage and organized the neighborhood boys into a sales force to sell tickets and refreshments.
Summer visits to both of MJ’s grandmothers led to her fascination with chickens. One grandmother had a small backyard flock and the other grandmother and two bachelor uncles had a large farm that supplied eggs to half of Long Island. MJ learned that a flock of chickens had almost the same range of personalities that could be found in a classroom, from the quiet, shy chicken to the big bully.
MJ loved books and read constantly. She wrote stories, drawn in comic book style with speech balloons for the dialog. Her interest in drawing continued through high school, and she went on to become an art major at Skidmore College. After graduation, MJ headed for New York City to seek fame and fortune, but after a year of designing prints for men's pajamas, she decided she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. She enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at Columbia University, which led to some wonderful years of working in a children's hospital near Hartford, Connecticut.
On a brief stop home to visit her parents before transferring to a new job in Denver, she met Herm Auch, a graphic artist and editorial cartoonist for the Rochester newspaper. It was love at first sight, and MJ never made it to Denver. They were married in 1967 and within a few years had produced a daughter, Katrin and a son, Ian. They moved from the city to a small farm, complete with chickens, ducks, and geese. Armed with a huge collection of Mother Earth News and absolutely no practical experience, they tackled farm life with gusto, gaining much comedy material for books MJ’s future books.
As the children grew older, MJ began to look for work in her original field of art. Like Jenna's mother in Mom Is Dating Weird Wayne, she had a brief stint as a “zit zapper” at a school picture factory. Then she started illustrating for Pennywhistle Press, a national children's newspaper, and this sparked her interest in illustrating children’s books.
In the summer of 1984, MJ took a week-long children's writing conference on Cape Cod. She tried to write a picture book manuscript to take to the conference, but instead found herself writing a middle-grade novel. When her instructor, Natalie Babbitt, told of starting out as an artist and finding she could paint better pictures with words, something clicked. MJ finally knew that she wanted to a writer.
She started sending manuscripts to publishers, writing four full-length novels before she sold the first one. Then she sold a second book to another publisher that same week. It had taken two years and thirteen rejections, but MJ had finally reached her goal!mShe continued writing books for older kids and abandoned her dream of illustrating for a while. Then, after nine books, she wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg Farm. This set in motion a series of picture books featuring poultry involved in the arts.
The Auchs have now become a family of artists. Their children are grown and pursuing art careers of their own. Kat, a graphic artist, is now working as Associate Art Director for Scrapbook Answers Magazine in San Francisco. Ian has been a graphic artist and 3-D animator and is now Assistant New Media Editor for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. Ian is also a metal artist and created the chicken-sized beauty parlor chair for [b:Beauty and the Beaks|1918127|Beaut
The thought of becoming a writer never occurred to MJ Auch as a child. Her only literary efforts in those days were the plays which she and her girlfriend, Noreen, wrote for their marionettes. They produced these extravaganzas in Noreen’s garage and organized the neighborhood boys into a sales force to sell tickets and refreshments.
Summer visits to both of MJ’s grandmothers led to her fascination with chickens. One grandmother had a small backyard flock and the other grandmother and two bachelor uncles had a large farm that supplied eggs to half of Long Island. MJ learned that a flock of chickens had almost the same range of personalities that could be found in a classroom, from the quiet, shy chicken to the big bully.
MJ loved books and read constantly. She wrote stories, drawn in comic book style with speech balloons for the dialog. Her interest in drawing continued through high school, and she went on to become an art major at Skidmore College. After graduation, MJ headed for New York City to seek fame and fortune, but after a year of designing prints for men's pajamas, she decided she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. She enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at Columbia University, which led to some wonderful years of working in a children's hospital near Hartford, Connecticut.
On a brief stop home to visit her parents before transferring to a new job in Denver, she met Herm Auch, a graphic artist and editorial cartoonist for the Rochester newspaper. It was love at first sight, and MJ never made it to Denver. They were married in 1967 and within a few years had produced a daughter, Katrin and a son, Ian. They moved from the city to a small farm, complete with chickens, ducks, and geese. Armed with a huge collection of Mother Earth News and absolutely no practical experience, they tackled farm life with gusto, gaining much comedy material for books MJ’s future books.
As the children grew older, MJ began to look for work in her original field of art. Like Jenna's mother in Mom Is Dating Weird Wayne, she had a brief stint as a “zit zapper” at a school picture factory. Then she started illustrating for Pennywhistle Press, a national children's newspaper, and this sparked her interest in illustrating children’s books.
In the summer of 1984, MJ took a week-long children's writing conference on Cape Cod. She tried to write a picture book manuscript to take to the conference, but instead found herself writing a middle-grade novel. When her instructor, Natalie Babbitt, told of starting out as an artist and finding she could paint better pictures with words, something clicked. MJ finally knew that she wanted to a writer.
She started sending manuscripts to publishers, writing four full-length novels before she sold the first one. Then she sold a second book to another publisher that same week. It had taken two years and thirteen rejections, but MJ had finally reached her goal!mShe continued writing books for older kids and abandoned her dream of illustrating for a while. Then, after nine books, she wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg Farm. This set in motion a series of picture books featuring poultry involved in the arts.
The Auchs have now become a family of artists. Their children are grown and pursuing art careers of their own. Kat, a graphic artist, is now working as Associate Art Director for Scrapbook Answers Magazine in San Francisco. Ian has been a graphic artist and 3-D animator and is now Assistant New Media Editor for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. Ian is also a metal artist and created the chicken-sized beauty parlor chair for [b:Beauty and the Beaks|1918127|Beaut
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
October 19, 2020
Two roosters are always arguing and being loud. They just can't keep quiet. This noise bothers Clarissa the cow and Sophie the pig. As Halloween approaches, the Poultrygeist it awakened. It scares the roosters and they try to be quiet. But trying isn't enough for these 2. They get into a fight and accidentally bump into the Poultrygeist finding out the truth.
May 28, 2017
This would be a fun story to share with younger audiences, especially when they have trouble getting along with each other. The loud, bickering chickens don't heed the requests of their barnyard friends to quiet down, so the cow and pig devise a way to scare them into quieting down. Quite amusing.
August 28, 2018
Not my favorite. A little too texty. A cow and a pig pretend to be a ghost to scare the noisy roosters into quiet. Some of the rooster banter was funny, but I'm not sure my storytime kids would get it.
October 3, 2018
Fabulous. I bought it for my collection. The two rowdy chickens remind me of Amelia and Kaden. Good humor!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2025
Cute book for library storytime.
September 27, 2021
Our two rooster friends learn a lesson about the importance of not being too loud in the barnyard. The book definitely talks about Halloween - the animals are all preparing their costumes for the upcoming barnyard Halloween parade - but it's focus is more on learning how to control your loudness especially when it is bothering your friends. If not, they might have to resort to drastic measures.
Reading this as an adult - I did not think it was at all scary. But younger kids might be initially frightened by the Poultrygeist. But I still think this would work as a good Halloween story time choice. The reader could talk about the Poultrygeist in a way that would make it a bit less frightening. It would also be a fun one to act out with puppets and an a blanket!
Reading this as an adult - I did not think it was at all scary. But younger kids might be initially frightened by the Poultrygeist. But I still think this would work as a good Halloween story time choice. The reader could talk about the Poultrygeist in a way that would make it a bit less frightening. It would also be a fun one to act out with puppets and an a blanket!
November 21, 2020
Another book that makes it clear how much picture book publishing has changed in the last couple of decades. I just didn't buy into the idea of these farm animals celebrating Halloween. My kid had the mystery figured out the second it appeared. It just tried a little too hard for me.
February 8, 2018
Best Friends Rudy and Ralph, two rowdy young roosters, are taught a lesson about being too noisy when they encounter a Poultrygeist in the barn.
October 9, 2018
I think this is such a fun book! I love the idea in the book of using Halloween to solve a problem. Funny ending too :)
September 30, 2019
A cute "spooky" story about two roosters who get scared by the poultrygeist in their barn. It's funny and kids will love it. A good easy book for Halloween time.
July 10, 2023
Just in time for Halloween, you can feast your eyes and ears on Poultrygeist.
Meet Rudy, also his best friend, Ralph... two rooster pals who certainly mean well. Witness my favorite quote from this book (and the illustration makes these guys' predicament even funnier):
When the sun rose the next morning, Rudy and Ralph held each other's beaks closed to keep from crowing. It wasn't easy.
Hey, Goodreaders, there's perspective on some of our so-grownup problems!
For readers young and older, funniest of all is the ending. But that's off limits for this book review, of course. No spoilers from me, no no!
Please, just take to heart my FIVE STAR recommendation, Goodreaders. Very likely you'll enjoy this wacky creation from Mary and Herm Auch, a pair of author illustrators who take zany to a new level.
Meet Rudy, also his best friend, Ralph... two rooster pals who certainly mean well. Witness my favorite quote from this book (and the illustration makes these guys' predicament even funnier):
When the sun rose the next morning, Rudy and Ralph held each other's beaks closed to keep from crowing. It wasn't easy.
Hey, Goodreaders, there's perspective on some of our so-grownup problems!
For readers young and older, funniest of all is the ending. But that's off limits for this book review, of course. No spoilers from me, no no!
Please, just take to heart my FIVE STAR recommendation, Goodreaders. Very likely you'll enjoy this wacky creation from Mary and Herm Auch, a pair of author illustrators who take zany to a new level.
November 21, 2023
These two roosters could totally be my niece and nephew. It is unbelievable how loud they are. They take up all the room so that adults or other kids even can't have conversations. They are always trying to outdo the other. The subject is very right on.
The other animals get tired of these noisome roosters. It was the Halloween Party and it was time for everyone to get ready. That's when a huge specter rises up into the rafters and scares all the animals. They hold their parade outside this year.
Spoilers:
As you can imagine, it was the adults trying to teach the roosters a lesson. The ghost arrises with noise. The roosters are quiet for a time. Still, we find its the pig and cow trying to teach the pair a lesson. Nothing works as well as simply sitting on them.
The other animals get tired of these noisome roosters. It was the Halloween Party and it was time for everyone to get ready. That's when a huge specter rises up into the rafters and scares all the animals. They hold their parade outside this year.
Spoilers:
As you can imagine, it was the adults trying to teach the roosters a lesson. The ghost arrises with noise. The roosters are quiet for a time. Still, we find its the pig and cow trying to teach the pair a lesson. Nothing works as well as simply sitting on them.
October 24, 2021
I think the "mature" pig and cow were a lot more annoying than the roosters. And then the ending was worse than stupid. It felt like a kid just made it up on the spot.
November 1, 2021
I thought this was really clever and fun. My little one thought it was mean. But I think it was fairly well deserved and didn't really hurt anyone.
November 6, 2021
Hilarious!
February 14, 2023
Used for a family read aloud. My partner enjoyed this one more than me.
August 29, 2023
One of the funniest picture books I've ever read. The roosters remind me of my younger brothers.
October 24, 2023
Clever story of barnyard animals and spooky way to learn lesson of being considerate of others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2018
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Halloween Week, Day 4: Hello, friends! Today, we read Poultrygeist by Mary Jane and Herm Auch, a funny story about two troublesome roosters being taught a lesson in manners.
Ralph and Rudy are roosters on the same farm who fight – often, and LOUDLY. The other animals don’t mind so much during the day, but Clarissa the cow and Sophie the sheep are sick of being woken throughout the night with their noisy crowing. Just before Halloween, however, it seems that the rowdy roosters have awoken a spooky ghost with their racket – the Poultrygeist!
This was a fun little Halloween barnyard story with a lesson about being respectful of others added in. The illustrations are colorful and cute, and while the length might be stretching it for some baby bookworms, JJ enjoyed it. Baby Bookworm approved!
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
Read
December 14, 2013This is a great book to read to student during the month of October. It is a bit scary, but nothing that a child could not handle. The two roosters in the book are always making noise and the rest of the barn yard animals are getting tired of all their noise. Two of the barn animals decide to hatch a plan in order to scare the roosters from ever making noise again. My reading buddy and I read this book and she thought it was hilarious and scary at the same time. She said it was a perfect combination of the two. I would definitely keep this book around for my own personal library and share with kids for the years to come.
I would recommend this book for grades 3rd through 6th.
I would recommend this book for grades 3rd through 6th.
December 1, 2015
Looking for a different kind of Halloween story? Here it is! A cow and a pig team up to have the roosters, Rudy and Ralph, quiet down by scaring them into quietness. How cow and pig are discovered is very funny!
March 9, 2008
Silly, good, but not great.
March 10, 2009
Silly barnyard story where two noisy roosters learn to hush. Some of the horror flick references will be meaningful to the parent, hopefully not the child.
August 7, 2010
On Halloween, two boisterous roosters learn a lesson they won't soon forget.
Used for "Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere" Storytime-October, 2010.
Used for "Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere" Storytime-October, 2010.
December 8, 2010
This story is about a pair of best friends who are always having fun, but they bother some of the other farm animals. One day a ghost appears on the barn and scares them.
August 28, 2012
Amusing story.
September 13, 2012
Cute barnyard Halloween read.
September 17, 2021
This book was pretty funny.
October 15, 2012
Cute barnyard Halloween tale--just a little bit scary--but not too scary! Addresses being considerate of others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews