The Skull

Jon Klassen, The Skull, Walker Books, July 2023, 112 pp., RRP $32.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781529509571

The Skull came to Klassen a year or so after he read a Tyrolean folktale of the same name in an Alaskan library. The original story had haunted him for more than a year. He ended up contacting the librarians in Alaska who helped him track down the original tale. However, when he went back to the text, he discovered his brain had reinvented the ending. This reimagining became the impetus for his latest book.

Author-illustrator Klassen is best known for his picture books, particularly the Caldecott winning This is Not My Hat. Published as a hardback chapter book, The Skull will appeal to a slightly older audience with children in mid to late primary the most likely to enjoy. His trademark dark palette and emotive eyes complement the spooky tale well.

The story begins with a little girl called Otilla running away from home, escaping an unnamed danger. In the dark woods, she finds a lonely house with a skull in the window. The skull talks to her, and she befriends it and moves into the house. The skull warns her, however, that a headless skeleton will come looking for him during the night. I won’t do spoilers here. Suffice to say the macabre humour that readers expect from Klassen prevails, creating a thought-provoking ending.

Reviewed by Heather Gallagher 

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