The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale

This book is awesome!! We have another (That is not my Hat) by the same author which we also love but is much shorter.Very mildly dark - this is a wonderful fairytail-esque story that genuinely made me (as an adult) and my son (8 y/o) laugh. We loved the setting and the fact that there is no back story and that some questions are left unanswered. It's intriguing and fun, and really harks to a world where you can tell fun, mildly nonsensical stories just because. There's one page where a character is about to get pushed (mild spoiler.. sorry!) and you just know what's coming up on the next page. Honestly, I laughed out loud when I first saw it - how you manage to create that moment with a hand drawn image is still beyond me! Having said that though, it's also heart-warming with a lovely ending emphasising friendship. Only takes 2-3 nights to read as a bedtime story but we've read it many times. Fantastic!!

The Skull is a strange, slightly dark, little folktale. Despite only being a very short book, this is a tale that will stay with you.There is a young girl, Otilla, who is running through a forest in the snow at the beginning of the tale. We never know who she is running from, or why, but she is seeking refuge. She then discovers a large house, which she initially thinks is abandoned. On trying the door, she finds it locked, so she calls out to whoever lives there. She is answered by a skull, who lets her in from the cold. Otilla is to find out the skull is carrying its own secret.I loved this little book such a lot. Klassen's illustrations are perfectly sombre for the tale, bringing the two strange characters to life. In the afterword, Klassen explains that he originally found this tale within a book of folktales in Alaska. He read it once, and then when he returned to it years later, he discovers that he has remembered the ending in a totally different way. This is his reimagining.I love this about folktales and fairytales. You may discover them, love them, but they can be reworked, reimagined. They change over time, and there are tales from different cultures which all follow similar tropes, or contain similar morals. This is definitely a book which has earned a permanent place upon my bookshelf. It is one that I will go back to, maybe in a few months, or even a few years, and see if it is how I remember it.

A little girl, Otilla, is running away through the woods and she comes across a castle with a very unusual inhabitant – a skull. The skull is rather hospitable, but also afraid of something…I can’t divulge more, because the story is short and I don’t want to spoil it. It is spooky and slightly macabre, in a way I feel will appeal to the target audience, but also sweet, and cosy, and beautiful. Oh, my God, is it beautiful! Jon Klassen does the illustrations himself and the ones in this book are gorgeous. The colour palette is stunning and the composition and perspective are honestly breathtaking.On his Instagram page jonklassen shows some of the process he used for the perspective in those images – by using Lego structures, which was really cool to see. 🏰The story itself is written in a simple language that sometimes also introduces humour to the story, and I liked how it added another layer to it. In the afterword, the author explains that it is his take on an old Tyrolean folktale he once read in Alaska, and he shares a lovely anecdote about the power of librarians!I have read the original tale, and whilst Klassen’s version is definitely darker, I revel in the beauty of his illustrations and how his take doesn’t necessarily focus on the why and how, but on the moods and feelings of the characters.This was definitely a stand-out read for me this year!

...and, by such definition, is rather different...in more ways than one (*)!The current product detail + the ‘READ SAMPLE’ + the stock images above give an adequate idea of the content, to see if it is the style for you & yours.From the dust-jacket front flap (image below refers):💀~ ‘This is an old story. It is about a girl named Otilla who runs away. It is also about a house in the woods, and a skull who lives there, and a secret the skull has, and the night that Otilla finds out what that secret is.Award-winning picture book creator Jon Klassen brings his gift for storytelling to this spooky adaptation of a traditional Tyrolean folktale.’📝n.b. There is no indication of what Otilla is running away from. I mention that for the current additional ‘blurb’ above in the product detail goes a bit over the top, IMO, with:~ ‘...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...’ooOooMeasuring roughly 16 cm x 21 cm, the dust-jacketed hardboard cover opens to 111 good quality, matte-finish pages overall, the story split across 5 parts.ENHANCED at times FOR EFFECT, the text, which includes speech and has a repeat element, is a good size and clear in black throughout. For me, the accompanying artwork is outstanding; the heaviness of darkness gradually lifted by the clever use of colour ~ likely to be appreciated by the older eye, also in my opinion.A final double-page spread illustrates ‘THE END’💀(*) pages 104 & 105: ‘AUTHOR’S NOTE’...where JK explains his interpretation of this traditional folktale, along with something to ponder over, generally!The very last page accredits accordingly (image below refers).

Great little picture book, suitable for any age, if you like a good story!I do so like picture books, especially if the illustrations are different!

Our family are obviously big fans of the hat series so when I saw Klassen had done this I had to buy it. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is fun, simple but weird, with a heavy dose of the deadpan humour we love from the hat books. My kids are only little but I can see this being a favourite for years.