David Goodner and Louis Thomas’s Ginny Goblin Is Not Allowed to Open This Box is not a Halloween story. It is a story about patience and imagination. However, Ginny and her adventures will make a nice addition to ones Halloween book collection.
Ginny is told she cannot open the oh so special box her parents have for her. That is, it cannot be opened until dinnertime. But of course, being a typical kid, she will pull out all the stops to find a way to reach that box once it goes up on the high shelf. She is not above catapulting, scaling moats and battling all sorts of roadblocks to achieve her goal. And the narrator is right along for the ride… that is, until all of a sudden, Ginny stops. Now how will we find out what is in that box? Ginny cannot give up! She is not allowed to give up! Is she? (We learn quickly that Ginny is going to do something that she is allowed to do!)
You, the adult reader, will realize why Ginny stops, but it could make for a fun question game between you and your child. You can try and guess why Ginny is washing her hands. Plus, it is up to you the reader to decide did Ginny really try to climb a tower? Fight moat monsters? And more.
The illustrations are quirky. Thomas has made Ginny and her parents look like cute, nice goblins, but there is no question they are goblins.