Leo: A Ghost Story

by Mac Barnett

Pacing Material

A friendly ghost who just wants to be welcomed finds an imaginative friend who sees past his spooky reputation.

Big Idea

When we look beyond appearances and welcome others with kindness, we discover friendship, understanding, and belonging.

Discussion Questions

1.Why were the new homeowners afraid of Leo?
2.How is Leo different from the ghosts we often see in stories?
3.Why do you think Jane was able to become Leo's friend?
4.What does Leo learn about friendship?
5.How do the illustrations help show Leo's emotions?
6.Why is imagination important in the story?
7.How can we help someone feel like they belong?

Classroom Activity

Graphic Friendship Art

Draw Leo and Jane on an adventure together in six comic panels. Add speech bubbles showing their conversation.

Lesson Plan

⏱ 40 minutes📦 Blank comic templates (6 panels), pencils

Learning Goals

Identify how characters look beyond appearances
Describe how imagination helps build friendship
Create a 6-panel comic showing friendship across differences

Activity Steps

1.Read the story, noting how Jane sees past Leo's spooky reputation.
2.Discuss: 'Why was Jane able to be Leo's friend?'
3.Model drawing a 6-panel comic of Leo and Jane on an adventure.
4.Students create their own friendship comic.
5.Share comics and discuss what the friends learned.

Standards Connections

ELA: RL.K.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details
ELA: RL.K.2 — Retell stories, including key details
ELA: RL.K.3 — Describe characters, setting, and events
ELA: RL.2.6 — Acknowledge differences in characters' points of view
ELA: SL.K.1 — Participate in collaborative conversations about the text
ELA: W.K.3 — Write narratives recounting events with descriptive details
SEL: Relationship Skills
SEL: Social Awareness
Art: VA:Re7 — Perceive and analyze artistic work

Pace-Write-Read Study with Pace-Write It!

Focus question: How does an author slow down and speed up a story to help us feel both spooky and friendly moments? In Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, a lonely ghost searches for a place where he belongs and finally meets Jane, a child whose imagination makes friendship possible. Barnett uses pacing through page turns, short lines, quiet pauses, and playful surprises so readers can feel suspense when Leo is misunderstood and relief when he is finally seen.

Element	How to notice or teach it in the novel
Pace	Read: Notice how the story moves quickly when Leo is chased away and more slowly in the quiet moments when he hopes someone will welcome him. Classroom Activity: Write 3 short sentences about a character hurrying away from a spooky misunderstanding, then 3 slower, longer sentences about finding a friend.
Plot	Read: Track the clear plot arc in Leo: he wants a home, people think he is scary, he feels alone, and then Jane becomes the friend who understands him. Classroom Activity: Draw and label the beginning, middle, and end of a friendship story where a character is misunderstood at first.
Prosody	Read: Listen to how the story sounds when read aloud, especially in spooky parts versus warm friendship parts, and how the language helps your voice change. Classroom Activity: Read one Leo page aloud in a spooky voice and one in a friendly voice, then write one line for each mood.
Word pause	Read: Notice where short phrases and sentence breaks make you pause before finding out what happens to Leo next. Classroom Activity: Write 2 suspenseful lines about opening a door, using line breaks or short sentences to make a pause.
Concept	Read: Think about the big idea that someone who seems scary on the outside may really be kind and lonely, just like Leo. Classroom Activity: Write or dictate one sentence that tells the lesson of Leo's story and one new example of that lesson.
Voice & World View	Read: Notice the gentle, playful voice of the narrator and the world view that invites readers to look past fear and see kindness in Leo. Classroom Activity: Write 4 sentences in a kind narrator voice introducing a character others do not understand.
Setting & Place	Read: Pay attention to the houses, rooms, and city spaces that shape Leo's loneliness and later his connection with Jane. Classroom Activity: Draw a place that feels empty at first and welcoming later, then write labels or 2 sentences showing the change.
Point of View	Read: Notice that readers can understand Leo's feelings even when the people in the story cannot see him for who he really is. Classroom Activity: Rewrite one moment from Jane's point of view, telling what she thinks when she meets Leo.
Original Characters	Read: Study how Leo is an unusual ghost because he is polite, hopeful, and friendly, and how Jane is imaginative enough to become his match as a friend. Classroom Activity: Invent an unexpected spooky character, such as a shy witch or helpful monster, and write 3 traits that make the character original.
Dialogue	Read: Listen for how dialogue helps reveal Jane's imagination and the growing connection between Jane and Leo. Classroom Activity: Write a 4-line conversation between Leo and Jane in which one character is nervous and the other is welcoming.
Details	Read: Notice the small details that show Leo's loneliness and his wish to belong, as well as details that show Jane's playful imagination. Classroom Activity: Make a t-chart of details that feel spooky and details that feel friendly, then use 2 from each side in your own writing.
Descriptions	Read: Watch how description in Leo: A Ghost Story balances eerie ghost-story qualities with soft, comforting friendship qualities. Classroom Activity: Write 2 describing sentences about the same room, first making it seem spooky and then making it seem safe.
Strong First Lines	Read: Notice how the opening quickly introduces Leo and sets the tone of a ghost story while also making readers curious about him. Classroom Activity: Write an opening line for a story about a surprising character who wants a friend.
Immediacy & Engagement	Read: Notice how the story quickly gives Leo a problem so readers care right away about whether he will be accepted. Classroom Activity: Write 3 opening sentences that introduce a character, a problem, and a feeling immediately.
Story Scenes & Summaries & Unique Structures	Read: Notice how some parts zoom into a scene, like a key interaction, while other parts move more quickly to show Leo's wandering and waiting. Classroom Activity: Write one detailed scene of meeting a new friend and one summary sentence that skips ahead to later that day.
Flashback & Flash Forward & Cliffhangers	Read: Even though this picture book is mostly straightforward, notice places where a page turn acts like a mini-cliffhanger because readers must wait to see what happens to Leo. Classroom Activity: Write a page-turn moment ending with a character hearing a mysterious sound and leaving readers waiting.
Tension & Suspense & Surprise	Read: Feel the tension when Leo is misunderstood and the surprise when Jane responds with imagination instead of fear. Classroom Activity: Write 5 sentences that build suspense about meeting someone strange, then end with a kind surprise.
Page Turns and Chapter Breaks	Read: In this picture book, page turns help control pacing by hiding what comes next, especially in spooky or emotional moments with Leo. Classroom Activity: Fold a paper into 4 parts and plan a mini picture book with one big surprise saved for a page turn.
Performance	Read: Think about how you could perform Leo with a floating, quiet voice and Jane with a lively, confident voice. Classroom Activity: Practice reading a short exchange aloud, then write stage directions like whisper, gasp, or smile.
Personality	Read: Notice how Leo's sweet personality makes him different from a typical scary ghost and how Jane's bold imagination helps the friendship happen. Classroom Activity: Write a character card for a spooky-but-kind character, including likes, fears, and what kind of friend they need.
Humor	Read: Notice the gentle humor in a ghost who is not trying to scare anyone and in the mismatch between how others see Leo and who he truly is. Classroom Activity: Write a funny sentence about a spooky character being bad at being spooky.
Pause	Read: Notice how quiet moments give readers time to feel Leo's loneliness and later the calm of being understood by Jane. Classroom Activity: Write a tiny scene with a pause in the middle, using the words Then... or For a moment... before the ending.
Poetry and Poetic Devices	Read: Listen for language that feels soft, musical, or image-rich when describing Leo's ghostly presence and the mood of the story. Classroom Activity: Write 3 short poetic lines about a friendly ghost using sound words or strong imagery.
Repetition	Read: Notice repeated ideas in Leo's searching and hoping, which help build the feeling that he keeps trying to find where he belongs. Classroom Activity: Write a repeating line such as I looked for a friend... and use it 3 times in a short piece.
Rhythm	Read: Hear the rhythm of shorter and longer sentences as the story shifts from suspense to comfort. Classroom Activity: Write one choppy, spooky sentence and one smooth, comforting sentence about the same character.
Punctuation	Read: Notice how punctuation helps shape expression, pauses, and surprise in a story that is both eerie and warm. Classroom Activity: Write 3 versions of the same line to show different feelings: one with a period, one with an exclamation mark, and one with an ellipsis.
Questions	Read: Ask questions as you read, such as why people fear Leo and why Jane is able to see him differently. Classroom Activity: Write 3 reader questions about a mysterious new character, then answer 1 question in a sentence.
Compare-Contrast	Read: Compare how adults or other people respond to Leo with how Jane responds, and contrast spooky expectations with the reality of Leo's kindness. Classroom Activity: Use a two-column chart to compare scary-looking and truly kind, then write 2 compare-contrast sentences.
Objects	Read: Notice important objects in the illustrations and story world that help show Leo's place in a house or Jane's imaginative play. Classroom Activity: Choose one object, such as a sheet, door, window, or toy, and write how it can seem spooky in one sentence and friendly in another.
Threes	Read: Look for places where events, attempts, or details can be grouped in threes to make the story feel patterned and satisfying, like multiple tries before Leo finds friendship. Classroom Activity: Write a character trying 3 times to make a friend, with the third try succeeding.
Whitespace & Negative Space	Read: Notice how open space in the illustrations can make Leo seem lonely, small, or quiet, slowing the reading pace. Classroom Activity: Plan a picture-book page with lots of empty space around one character, then write one sentence explaining the feeling that space creates.
Art & Graphics	Read: Study how the illustrations work with Barnett's words to make the story spooky, tender, and playful at the same time. Classroom Activity: Sketch Leo or a new ghost character and add 3 caption sentences that match the mood of your drawing.
Interactives & Gamification	Read: Turn reading into a noticing game by hunting for pages that feel spooky, lonely, and friendly as Leo's story changes. Classroom Activity: Make a 3-box mood tracker labeled spooky, lonely, friendly, and place one scene from your own story into each box before writing.

Pace-Write It!

20-Minute Classroom Flow\nRead (5 min): Read Leo: A Ghost Story aloud, stopping for a few page turns to let students feel suspense. Ask students to listen for parts that feel spooky, lonely, and friendly.\nNotice (5 min): Chart how Mac Barnett changes pacing. Prompt: Where does the story go fast? Where does it slow down? Notice short sentences, page turns, quiet pauses, and the change when Jane meets Leo.\nWrite (7 min): Students write a short 4-6 sentence mini story about a misunderstood spooky character who finds a friend. Writing frame: At first, ______________ seemed spooky because ______________. Everyone ______________. Then ______________ met ______________. For a moment, ______________. In the end, ______________ became friends because ______________. Encourage students to include one fast part and one slow, quiet part.\nShare (3 min): Partners read their stories aloud twice: first with a spooky voice, then with a warm friendship voice. Invite 2-3 students to share how they used a pause or page-turn feeling in their writing.\nExit ticket: Write one sentence answering: How did I slow down or speed up my story to help readers feel the important moment?