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Home > Categories > Books > Kids - Junior > The Skull review
In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons.
Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?
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Review by: mizim (Miriam)
Dated: 17th of September, 2023
Recently my work held an after hours event for teachers and had a couple of book reps there to show off some of the new books coming out. One of which was "The Skull" by the ever popular Jon Klassen. This book has a darker feel to it than previous books we have on our shelves, but I was intrigued and I liked the front cover, so I gave it a quick read. The Skull is a retelling of a Tyrolean (a state in Austria) folktale. Otilla is fleeing her home in the middle of the night and ends up in a house where there lives only a skull, who has its own skeleton to worry about.
I really enjoyed the illustrations, fair warning though, if you're looking for something bright and colourful this is not the book for you (though it follows the colour scheme of his other books). What I really liked is when Otilla is asked if she wants to talk about why she fled her home, she says 'no' and nothing else is said, then again when she asks the skull if it wants to give any details, its response is 'no' and the matter is never pressed. This is a lovely little tale of an unusual friendship and I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, I think this will do well and can't wait to recommend it at work.
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