04/08/2019
Skulls can be scary looking, but, this book proposes, they are precious things. “You probably don’t think much about skulls,” opens Thornburgh (Who’s That Girl), addressing the reader in a confiding tone. But everyone has one, and “skulls are safe and snug, like a car seat for your brain.” With a deft blend of yuckiness and hilarity, Campbell (Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy) draws a little skull on four wheels with a brain enclosed safely inside. Thornburgh expounds on her subject’s virtues: “Skulls have holes in them... for sounds, for light, for air, for grilled cheese sandwiches.” Some are afraid of skulls, she admits, but the reader is surely not one of those: “You love having a safe place to keep your brain.” Including readers in this group of rational humans makes Thornburgh’s ending message especially effective. “Take care of your skull,” the text advises, as Campbell shows a girl and her grinning skull in a bicycle helmet, “because you only get one.” Sometimes, this highly entertaining disquisition reminds readers, things that seem frightening at first can become quite wonderful once you get to know them. Ages 4–8. (July)
"Guaranteed to get kids giggling and proclaiming, 'I love my skull!'"
"With snappy writing Thornburgh describes a skull’s importance (it’s “a car seat for your brain”) and its functions (it gives a face its shape; it holds teeth in place; and more). . . . Campbell packs plenty of humor into his muted watercolor illustrations (the grim reaper sips from a juice box) in this jaunty paean to human skulls."
"Balances gracefully on the edge between comically informative and spooky; audiences wary of scares may find the straightforward cheer reassuring, while those who embrace the skeletal dark side will still have plenty of bony visages to admire. . . . This has obvious potential for Halloween/Día de los Muertos use, but it also has entertaining year-round possibilities for kids to get into their own headspace—literally."
"Campbell's sweetly absurd illustrations will help little ones learn not to fear the Reaper, whom he shows contentedly sipping a juice box. The quirky watercolor scenes support Thornburgh's offbeat narrative perfectly. . . . Between the popularity of Halloween and el Día de los Muertos, some families will find Skulls! a useful tool for comforting and educating young children who may find the holidays' skeleton-heavy imagery unsettling. Parents and teachers will also likely appreciate the list of skull facts in the end matter, ideal for engaging a skull's contents. This authoritatively positive demystification of cranial bones—with its recurring theme of grilled cheese appreciation—is sure to have preschool through early elementary-aged readers shouting, 'I love my skull!'"
"Skulls may often be associated with death and mortality, but this life-affirming book is breezy and ebullient. You can say it again: Skulls were never more fun."
"Amusing and engaging. Through clever comparisons (a skull is “a car seat for your brain”) and dialogue, the book brilliantly explains the purpose of this set of bones."
"Amusing and engaging. Through clever comparisons (a skull is “a car seat for your brain”) and dialogue, the book brilliantly explains the purpose of this set of bones."
"Guaranteed to get kids giggling and proclaiming, 'I love my skull!'"
07/01/2019
PreS-Gr 2—Thornburgh explains why we have skulls and why they look as they do. A goggle-eyed girl guides readers through crowds and then introduces a variety of folks and animals, some with X-rayed heads. The narrator shows how skulls give heads shape and keep teeth in place, and discusses why there are holes. She notes, "Skulls are not trying to be scary. They can't help the way they look." At the book's conclusion, Thornburgh provides a list of fast facts about skulls, such as body weight percentage and definitions of words such as orbits. Campbell's watercolor illustrations feature rounded figures involved in various upbeat activities. VERDICT The carefree tone and tidbits of humor, such as the girl's love of grilled cheese sandwiches, make this an amusing introduction for young students of the human body.–Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
2019-05-22
A celebration of that thing everyone has to hold eyes, nose, and teeth in place.
Thornburgh urges readers to appreciate their skulls, which are not only "safe and snug, like a car seat for your brain," but come with convenient holes for seeing, hearing, and chowing down on grilled-cheese sandwiches. Even without noses (which are "more of a cartilage thing"), skulls also give faces a good shape and, despite what some people think, really aren't trying to be scary. Campbell's cartoon illustrations feature racially diverse humans, animals, or crowds whose heads switch back and forth between smiling flesh and X-ray views with the turn of a page. Assurances notwithstanding, they tend to undermine that last claim—at least at first. Still, any initial startlement should soon give way to a willingness to echo the author's "I love my skull!" A page of "Cool Skull Facts!" opposite a final, fairly anatomically correct image gives this good odds of becoming a STEM and storytime favorite. (Informational picture book. 5-7)
Readers who have never thought of it before will agree: "Take care of your skull, because you only get one."
