Peter Ricq’s Ghosts are People Too Review: Simple But Fun

Ghosts have been called many things since people started telling ghost stories. Saying they’re “people,” as in, just like you and me, is only ever used in the context of that they were once alive. They’re also used more as something to scare the living or as a tragic being that needs help. Peter Ricq decided that they should be treated as just that, real people with emotions and personalities and not just the typical horror movies tropes in his newest illustrated book “Ghosts are People Too.” 

Ethan Alby is a young ghost and narrator of this tale. He talks about himself, how living people scare easily (and become scary and eat candy once a year) and a few other things about his “life” as a ghost. It may be a simple tale, but admittingly it is a rather cute story. It’s the type of story you tell a young child as a way of introducing them to horror and to get them to accept Halloween. It has horror elements to it but it isn’t scary in the slightest. Ethan doesn’t come off as the cliched ghost, he’s more as an actual person which is what Ricq set out to do and he succeeded at it.   

Ricq’s illustrations are these simple black and white illustrations with some that have color. While they may not be any masterpieces, there is a certain charm about them that anyone can appreciate. They manage to convey more emotion, especially when Ethan is in a room with lots of stuff all round, than anything super complicated. It’s the simplicity of the drawings that make them stand out rather than going out which fits with the story. 

“Ghosts are People Too” is a cute, charming book with equally charming illustrations that anyone of any age can enjoy. Ricq has shown that a simple story can be great if done right and this is the type of story that doesn’t need to be complicated. It has the right amount of everything to make it enjoyable.