Welcome to Litsy!

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/M9IeySwNsFI

Enjoy!

This was just the charming read (with slight macabre undertones) I needed for this snowy day. The Skull is Klassen's retelling of a folktale he found in a library in Alaska. The author's note was an interesting peek at his creative process, but also how we reshape stories in our memories over time. The story itself is about Otilla who runs away & discovers a house in the woods with a talking skull. A creative, dark, children's story with (CONT)

I can‘t stop thinking about this one. The story! The art! The insights in the Author‘s Note! I absolutely loved it. ❤️

A teacher recommended this picture book on TikTok and I was able to grab it from CloudLibrary. I don‘t know what I expected, but not this. It is a retelling of a folktale and I‘m still thinking about the message of the original versus this retelling.

#31by31 - 30min - 5pts
#20in4 - 30min - 5pts
Horror - 20pts
Word Search - 5 words - 50pts
Participation - 1pt

Total: 81pts

#teamwhoyagonnacall #scarathlon

4 ⭐We‘re used to getting picture box from John Klassen. This year he does a little longer story and gives us the Skull. This was originally a folktale of a certain sect of Austrian people. There is a small person running away from something into the woods. They come across the house, and in the house, there is the skull who needs protecting from the rest of the skeleton. This is a folktale in the true tradition of folktales.

Just as lovely as I hoped it would be. Also: don't mess with Otilla. I'd say this is as close as you can get to a story for all ages that features a skull, though there may be nightmare potential for very young children. Really appreciated the Author's Note, for discussing the source material, and its characterization of folk tales.

Dawn light. I love how Klassen manages to bring something cozy to the dark image.

I got to be the school librarian yesterday so in between classes I read this delightful spooky book.

Dream jobs - librarian ✅

I adore klassen‘s illustrations: they're slightly dark, and rich, and atmospheric. So, I loved this short, picture-book version of what Klassen remembered from reading a Tyrolean folktale. Skulls, but make it cosy, please! 💀🖤☕️ #scarathlon book 9 (? 🧐 I need to check my notes!) team #spookyghostclub

A beautifully atmospheric book. I wouldn't quite call it a graphic novel, more of a mature picture book. I liked that the illustrations expanded the story rather than just portraying the words. The afterword from the author was a great story itself and added a whole other layer to the book. Well worth your time.

I‘m not sure whether this is meant to be a kids book or more of an illustrated for adults story… it‘s an adaptation of a fairytale, though the author admits he changed the story a good deal. I thought it was cute, a bit dark for kids, but fairytales do tend to be don‘t they?

Sietje is annoyed I asked her to pose with a book again 😆

Otilla gets things done! The skull just wants to live its best life! Sweet and creepy children‘s book. The illustrations are lovely.

Cozy horror for little kids! This sweetly unsettling, whimsically creepy, warmly chilling picture book is inspired by an old Tyrolean fairy tale about a girl who runs away from home and befriends a skull, itself fleeing a skeleton, in an ancient castle in a deep dark wood. Like the old, old fairy tales, the narrative simplicity here leaves you with more questions than answers, inviting you to savor the spooky and make friends with mystery.

This new picture book, a folktale retelling, is a delight! Creepy, cozy, adorable.

Otilla is pretty badass. I definitely like Klassen‘s version better than the original. Also, secretly glad that librarians were part of re-finding the original tale. 💀