A shy, invisible ghost is truly seen and appreciated in this interactive picture book co-written by Academy Award–winning American filmmaker Daniel Kwan and Emmy Award–nominated British animator Julia Pott, and illustrated by Toronto artist Sean Lewis.

Acting as the ghost’s go-between, a convivial narrator relays questions, elicits commentary, and enlists the reader’s help in getting the nervous spirit ready for a party: “They are really excited to show you their new hat. Do you like their hat? … Can they practice their small talk with you?” Ghost’s tender personality and adorable quirks quickly come into view, including their uncontrollable tendency to blush when excited, and a habit of hiding fun facts on slips of paper in their back pockets, just in case they can’t think of something to say. Sharing vulnerabilities and beseeching the reader for secrecy (“Please don’t tell anyone. It’s so embarrassing”), the conversational text smoothly builds an empathetic, co-conspiratorial bond.

Illustration: Sean Lewis.

Turns out the sweet spectre has a crush on Martha, the ghost hostess with the most-est, and needs all the moral support they can get. Haunted by self-doubt, panic-prone Ghost has second thoughts about going to the party at all. A striking double-page spread shows the bashful worrier’s two circular, rosy cheeks blazing hot with social anxiety, silhouetted against a whirling list of nightmare worst-case scenarios that range from possible faux pas (“What if they accidentally step in a mud puddle and leave a big footprint on the rug?”) to existential fears (“What if no one knows their name?”). After telling their worries to the reader and being heard (“Thank you for listening. You are easy to talk to”), Ghost summons their courage, and is a warmly embraced, real presence at the party.

Sean Lewis’s dreamily hazy, mixed-media artwork has a cozy, cottage-core aesthetic and is packed with hidden details and multi-layered meanings. The self-conscious ghost is largely invisible, save for a floating pointy hat, cleverly fashioned out of a poster that previously hung on the bedroom wall, or a pinprick speck of a poppy seed stuck in their teeth.

An affectionate, validating picture book about anxiety, friendship, and the transformative powers of being seen.