To start on a negative is not usually a good thing, but this review needs to start with, “Why was this book so short?” It is too short Emily Ettlinger (author of)! I see potential for a book with multiple stories for Skeleanor! I see lots of trouble and adventures she can get into and have! But until we have a book two, I must be satisfied with Skeleanor the Decomposer: A Graphic Novel.
I read this sweet story about practice and figuring out that sometimes your friends can give you a hand (and if you’re a skeleton a knee, too) online and therefore, I am not sure how the final size and look will be. I am hoping that it is not overly oversized, but something tells me it could be. I am hoping it is a traditional sized book that allows the ages of second to about fourth grade to want to read. I hope it is not too “picture book” sized, though it would work for that crowd, too.
Clever, fun, punny (text and illustrations) and silly illustrations (really silly illustrations, but also sweet and realistic in a cartoon way) are colorful (terribly colorful and polished) that allow you to dance along. They are minimal but are the driving force. We see how Skeleanor (a skeleton) wants to play an instrument, and wants to play in the festival the village is having soon. However, she is a skeleton, and the village are humans and well, there are some misunderstandings on both sides. Once those are cleared up, we have a great story of what it means to be a real musician, what is beautiful and that friends are cool (especially if they are not chasing you with an out of tuned instrument).
