Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

Story

Ada Goth lives in Ghastly-Gorm Hall with her famous poet father and a constant stream of interesting guests, but this doesn’t stop her feeling lonely. However, life gets a lot more interesting when she meets the ghost of a mouse. The new friends realise something untoward is going on at Ghastly-Gorm Hall so set out to solve the mystery.

Why we chose it

A Gothic story with a difference, adventurous and funny, told with humour and beautifully designed and illustrated by Chris Riddell. Riddell is a much loved, multi-award winning illustrator who was the Children’s Laureate from 2015-2017.

Where it came from

Riddell had an interest in drawing as a child and admired the work of acclaimed illustrators John Tenniel and E H Shepard. This led him to attend art school and study under Raymond Briggs, the creator of The Snowman. Riddell wrote Goth Girl with his daughter in mind and says it is his favourite of his own books.

Where it went next

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse won the 2014 Costa Children’s Book Award and was nominated for the 2015 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and the 2013 National Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year Award.

Associated stories

There are three more books in the Goth Girl series: Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death (2014), Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright
(2015), and Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony (2017). There was also a 2015 World Book Day edition called Goth Girl and the Pirate Queen. Riddell has written and illustrated many other stories including his Ottoline series, along with illustrating many books in collaboration with other famous authors including The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling.