Grandpere's Ghost Swamp: Rachel M. Marsh

Rachel M. Marsh Hardcover JUVENILE FICTION/Fantasy / General Ferris meets Ghosts of Tupelo Landing when sixth-grader Basil Theriot is haunted by her grandfather’s ghost and must reconnect with her Cajun roots to help him pass on. A cozy, not-so-spooky ghost story about family tradition, environmental activism, food, and friendship. Basil Theriot has a secret. She doesn’t want to take over the family restaurant like her parents expect her to. Theriot’s was Grandpere’s dream—authentic Cajun food in the heart of New Orleans’s French Quarter. And now that Grandpere has passed, her father is executive chef. But Basil hates the restaurant, and how it keeps her family from doing anything else. Weekends, holidays—it’s all spent keeping out of sight at the restaurant, instead of backyard crawfish boils or lazy mornings or anything fun, like her classmates get to do. And actually... Basil has another, even bigger secret—Grandpere’s ghost is haunting her. G’pere is worried his family has strayed too far from their bayou roots and grown too distant from one another. He needs Basil’s help to rectify that before he can move on. Along the way, Basil may just find a new dream, and it might be closer to home than she ever expected. Rachel Marsh’s sophomore novel has a little bit of everything: a pinch of spookiness, a dash of environmental activism, and a heaping of family. It explores responsibility, tradition, and the beauty of the bayou surrounding New Orleans. For fans of Gracie Under the Waves and A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. A COZY GHOST STORY: Sure, Basil is being haunted, but Grandpere’s ghost isn’t anything like her ghost-obsessed best friend says he should be. He’s just her Grandpere, with a couple new tricks up his sleeve. A STORY OF NEW FRIENDS AND EXPANDING COMMUNITY: Grandpere’s missions for Basil lead her to his old friends, who become new friends to her. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM: Kids face so much climate change related anxiety, and Basil’s environmental optimism will provide hope and inspiration to act. MULTIGENERATIONAL FAMILY STORY: Two generations of Theriots have run their restaurant. Basil’s parents and Grandpere are fully realized, sympathetic characters. SCIENCE CURRICULUM TIE-IN: Throughout her adventure, Basil learns about the flora and fauna native to the bayou. A CELEBRATION OF CAJUN CULTURE AND COOKING: Even though it isn’t Basil’s favorite cuisine, readers will salivate over the depictions of mirlitons, beignets, and all the Cajun food served up at Theriot’s, as well as enjoy the music references, language, and the New Orleans and bayou settings. SHORT CHAPTERS, PERFECT FOR RELUCTANT READERS: Short, fast-paced chapters make Grandpere's Ghost Swamp an accessible and easily digestible read. SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING: In connecting with her family’s past and her own future, Basil encounters all five social emotional learning themes.