Ghost Fever / Mal de Fantasma by Joe Hayes

This Texas Bluebonnet Award-winning book has been on my 'to do' list for a while, and for one reason or another, I never managed to make time to read it until now. I knew the format was bi-lingual (English/Spanish), and that it was written by a respected Southwestern storyteller (Joe Hayes), but that's about it. The author's storytelling background comes through clearly in this simple tale of teenage tragedy. I won't spoil it for you by giving away the plot, but let's just say it should be especially appealing to Hispanic teenage girls, say around the age of 15 or so. This story could easily have been included in a collection of spooky tales, ghost stories, and the like. It is a short, very quick read, which kids will like, particularly if they don't take time to figure out the Spanish translations on each double-page spread. On the other hand, students taking Spanish classes may enjoy seeing the translations and trying to figure out the differences. Most kids like a good ghost story, so this one should appeal to anyone from third grade on up. A copy of it is available in Stone Middle School Library.