Well, I may be very tired in the evenings, reading aloud and interpreting phrase by phrase from the children's books may be challenging after a bustling day. It happens, when I first read "a newt" in English and then have to interpret this word into Russian - "triton" - I come up with an amazing coinage: "Newton. Sorry, sorry, sweety, I ment triton, that was a slip of a tongue, no newtons..."
But sometimes translation for a child may be better, when you read:
"From one of the empty seats in front of the theater came a softer voice. "Calm down, Klenk. They'll keep the mice away." It was the artist, quetly sketching.
I must admit: the book is not about ghosts or even a ghost of Degas. This is Bijou, Bonbon&Beau. The kittens who danced for Degas by Joan Sweeney. Tell me, guys, what's wrong with me, but I can't imagine an empty seat talking or somebody sitting in an empty spot.