marybatson's Full Review: Margery Cuyler - Skeleton Hiccups
My son adores skeletons! I’m not sure how, or when the fascination with skeletons began, but he’s got it bad! Sometime ago I checked out some skeleton books from the library in an attempt to pique his curiosity. Most were far too technical, and I didn’t want to scare him with all the details. I did settle on some of the offerings, and Skeleton Hiccups was his favorite, or more appropriately, IS his favorite.
This isn’t an educational tome about the skeletal system. It’s a humorous take on an affable skeleton that has a problem with his diaphragm. Have you ever had uncontrollable hiccups? Well, Skeleton wakes up with the hiccups and tries everything to restrain them. He has difficulty performing his morning routine because of the hiccups. The soap flies out of the tub when showering, and his arm bone dislocates when polishing his bones. His efforts to carve a pumpkin are futile, and he can’t rake the leaves the save his life. [Oh wait, he's a skeleton.] His friend Ghost makes some suggestions to alleviate the condition:
“Hold your breath. Hic, hic, hic.
Eat some sugar. Hic, hic, hic
Press your fingers over you eyeballs. Hic, hic, hic.”
Nothing works for poor Skeleton, until Ghost thinks of a clever solution that scares the hiccups away. The idea works so well it frightens Skeleton and Ghost out of the book!
S.D. Schindler's work, the same illustrator of Big Pumpkin, and The Runaway Pumpkin is fresh and creative. For instance, Skeleton’s bed has a headstone headboard with R.I.P. craved into the back. In another scene where Skeleton is shining his bones, the can of polish says, “Ghost-White Bone Polish.” I love the absurdity. When Skeleton drinks water upside down, the water flows out of his eyes sockets, and puddles on the floor. It’s hilarious!
Margery Cuyler’s writing is simplistic, and appropriate for the very young such as a 2-years old. For the most part, the sentences consist of 3-words, and it takes less than a minute to read the entire book. Then again, I’ve never gotten through the book in less than 5-minutes. My son is so inquisitive. “Why is Skeleton picking his nose on the front cover?” He’s emulating a person who’s pinching their nose and drinking a glass of water to make hiccups go away. “What’s mousy doing?” There’s a mouse peaking from a hole in Skeleton’s bedroom wall. Oh, and then there’s the bone questions. “What’s that bone called? What’s that bone for?” Who knew a simple book like Skeleton Hiccups could bring about such questions from a 5-year old?
This isn’t an ordinary book. It’s truly an original, and the artwork is the shining star. The renderings are a mixture of watercolor, and gouache paint. The backgrounds have wonderful faux finishing effects that emphasizes the white of the two characters and make them pop off the pages. Skeleton and Ghost are painted in an opaque paint and detailed in ink. The fine points are fabulous without being too comprehensive. In no way are the pictures scary, or upsetting. In fact, the artist goes out of his way to add expression, and even places a baseball cap on Ghost in an attempt to make him look more friendly. The only nitpicky thing is that reading all the "Hic, hic, hic's" can be a tedious, so I read only half of them.
Skeleton Hiccups would make a wonderful addition to your holiday collection, or for year round reading as well. It isn’t a Halloween book per se, but it helped to get us in the mood for the season. We love it so much; I’ve ordered the paperback version for $6.49.
ISBN: 0-689-84770-X
Margaret K. McElderry Books (A imprint of Simon & Schuster) 2002
Skeleton wakes up with the hiccups. His friend, Ghost, suggests several ways Skeleton should try to get rid of them--holding his breath, drinking wate...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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