The picture book genius behind I Want My Hat Back and The Rock From the Sky delivers a marvellously macabre folktale for slightly older readers as brave Otilla takes refuge in an eerie house inhabited by a sentient skull.
Longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2024
Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Jon Klassen delivers a deliciously macabre treat for folktale fans.
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? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit - with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author's note - The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781529509571
Number of pages: 112
Weight: 405 g
Dimensions: 211 x 162 x 17 mm
A dark, delectable adventure. - Emily Bearn, The Daily Telegraph
A mysterious, exquisitely presented gothic tale about a runaway girl and a talking skull, who befriend each other, and a threatening headless skeleton. Klassen’s images make astonishing use of light and dark, especially in his rosy-fingered dawn. - Nicollette Jones, The Sunday Times
Beautiful, heartwarming, funny, and only very mildly spooky. If anyone can turn an obscure Middle-European folk fable into a bestseller, it’s Klassen. - Tristram Saunders, Daily Telegraph
Klassen’s deadpan humour and shadowy illustration combine to darkly chilling effect as he harnesses the power of traditional storytelling. Brilliant. - Sally Morris, Daily Mail
“This is a delicious little horror, inspired by a Tyrolean folk tale, about a lonely, abandoned skull who plays host to a very brave little girl. It has surprises, a clever wit and some knockout illustrations.” - Big Issue
When Otilla runs away, she travels through a dense forest before coming across a house that looks abandoned. When she knocks on the door, Otilla discovers the house is inhabited after all.
“Otilla looked up to where...
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Jon Klaasen is a boundary breaking author/ illustrator who never fails to tap into the strangeness, curiosity, joy and defiance of everybody's inner child. This is a stunning tale of friendship and loyalty with a... More
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