Four Silly Skeletons

A cautionary tale of silly skeletons who go dancing under the full moon despite their sensible auntie’s offer of torches and lanterns. Enthused by the music, the daft dancers rush headlong to the Big Drop, where they tumble and topple down breaking into bits. Oh what a pile of bones and grinning faces stare out at us then! Fortunately the ever-resourceful Auntie June is on hand to glue them (somewhat haphazardly) back together for more of their addled adventures. And they’re so screwball they don’t mind having two left feet or arms sprouting from their skulls because these are skeletons raring to go.

Full of clanging sounds and clattering mishaps, the comic book style ensures that no one is ever really hurt, while the humorous and inventive text keeps the reader firmly on the path to fun. Fresh and funny, the rhyming story fairly skips along. It’s a great pairing of writer and illustrator, because against dark or black background the white skeletons are as sharp and witty as the language. The images are graphic and sophisticated, with bold patterns and shapes while the fast moving compositions remain controlled, like every aspect of this tight, and energetic book.

I loved this message of family support, especially as I was reading this to a small family member having just done a similar patching up to his family, and was rewarded by him saying, ‘She’s just like you, Auntie’. (Though it might have been the gaudy jewellery that Auntie June sports.)