5 stars Fiction Folklore Middle School/ Children’s
What a clever story! I have always enjoyed Jon Klassen stories even though I know that I’m not his target audience. His stories, along with his art, are creative, moving, and they’re not over the top. I like the simplicity of what he does. He doesn’t try to put on a circus performance for his readers. He takes them on a journey. A journey of discovery, of wonder, and one that makes them want to keep flipping the pages.
Just opening The Skull, I knew I was in for a treat. The paper, the fonts and the colors used in the illustrations were setting the stage for this Tyrolean Folktale. Part One: Young Otilla has been running all night. Dressed in a hooded cape, Otilla pushes herself through snow that’s past her knees. What she is running from, I have no idea but her walking stick has kept her upright so far. As the dark, thick forest begins to crowd in on her, she begins to hear it call her name. Pushing herself, she makes her way through the trees and she discovers a huge, old house. Hope!
With a locked door, Otilla knocks and calls out. Yes! Someone immediately answers her call. Looking up, Otilla discovers that there’s a window above her and a skull had answered her call.
My mind was going as I turned the page and saw that I was going into Part Two of the book with three (3) different sections. There were so many different possibilities as to where this story might go. Otilla and the skull reach an agreement and they meet (I loved the creativity here and the illustrations were amazing). Seriously, I would love to share how the two of them conversed and discussed the house that the skull lived in but I feel that it would give away part of the story. I was enjoying their innocence, the tenderness, and the grace the two of them had with each other and how they accepted each other as they talked. The ballroom……..oh, the ballroom. You couldn’t knock the smile off my face at this point as I read.
Part Three: As the day winds down, the skull makes an offer to Otilla but it comes with a warning. Again, these two discuss everything and they come to an understanding, as friends should. The ending was fantastic!!
From the paper used in this book to the large print of the text, this book just didn’t think of the storyline and the illustrations. I liked how the author broke up the book into parts to give it an older audience appeal yet the story also appeals to younger children. Using a skull, there is a creepy tone to the story yet the folktale is not haunting or horrific. The illustrations were wonderful, I loved the color scheme used and it complimented the text. 5 stars
One Chapter 