Module 2: The Ghost-Eye Tree

The Ghost-Eye Tree

Book Summary:

In the story The Ghost-Eye Tree, a little boy and his sister are sent out during the night to get a bucket of milk on the other end of town.  In order to get to the other end of town, they must pass a tree, but not just any tree.  The tree they must pass is the “Ghost-Eye Tree.”  The boy and his sister make it past the tree on their way to get milk, but they must past it once more on their way home.  It was then that they heard an awful, spooky sound and the “ghost.”  In fear, they ran as fast as they could all the way home.  When they got there, they realized that the little boy lost his hat!  Being a brave, big sister Ellie went back and successfully retrieved the hat for her brother.         

APA Reference of Book:

Martin, B. (1985). The ghost-eye tree. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Impressions:

At first, I was not very impressed by this book.  If I had read this book as a child, I would have been terrified as it would have surely caused me to have nightmares.  I would have also been too scared to walk to my grandparents’ house as they lived just up the street from us and I had to pass a big oak tree that sat at the edge of our front yard.  As a kindergarten teacher, I did not appreciate how often the terms “stupid” and “dumb” were used throughout the book.  However, the more I thought about the book and how I may have enjoyed it as an upper-elementary student (grades 4-6).  It would be fun to read to this by flashlight book to students around Halloween.  They could even write their own spooky story as an extension.     

Professional Review:

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3 A gorgeously illustrated spooky story, The Ghost-Eye Tree tells of a young brother and sister sent by their mother to fetch a bucket of milk on a windswept night. To do so, they must pass the dread ``Ghost-Eye tree,'' a shadowed and sinister-looking snag which they are sure is haunted. Brother has a tough-guy beat-up fedora to bolster his courage. His sister says it makes him look stupid, but brother says he needs it, if he is to accomplish the demanding mission. On the way home, burdened with the heavy milk pail, the two must again pass the ominous tree. It (or the owl half-hidden in the branches, or the wind) emits a frightful wail, and the children bolt for the safety of home, both of them scared out of their wits. Brother's hat is gone, lost somewhere near the terrible tree. Sister, who knows what it means to him, runs back, rescues the hat and restores it to tough-guy little brother. This beautiful picture book is rich in language, although the attempt to capture dialect occasionally results in grammatical awkwardness. With its sombre shades and deliciously scary spookiness, it will make a super Halloween read-aloud and has a lot to say about gruff but genuine family affection.

Source: 

McGarth, J. (1986). The ghost-eye tree [Review of the book The ghost-

eye tree, by B. Martin]. School Library Journal, 32, 76. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com

Found through UNT’s Library Database- Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson)

Library Uses:

This would be an excellent story to use around Halloween.  In the library, I would retell this story through storytelling for grade 4-6.  I would setup a fake campfire and retell the story by flashlight.  It would also be fun to partner with the art teacher and have the students create the “Ghost-Eye Tree” a couple of weeks before Halloween and use it in the library to help create the setting for the story.  As an extension, the students could checkout spooky Halloween stories and retell their favorite story to the class in subsequent weeks.