A review by halschrieve
Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo

4.0

Building on to her acclaimed Mercy Watson series of books for young readers, DiCamillo takes the reader on a brief, suspenseful adventure with Francine Poulet, an animal control officer who is proud of her level head. When Francine encounters a raccoon that seems to be screaming her name and which might be a ghost, she panics, falling from a roof and landing in a hospital. As she doubts herself, Francine hands in her resignation. It takes a local boy who knows the whereabouts of the raccoon to remind her of her professional calling and that her personality and stature (“solid as a refrigerator”) is a valuable asset to her community. More interesting than the original first few books about a hungry pet pig living in an overwhelmingly bland town, this book takes on a character with a streak of neuroticism and self-doubt and a situation both funny and believably high-stakes for the characters. Illustrations by Chris Van Dusen provide even, shiny color to break up chunks of text. Appropriate for grades 1-4.