Skulls!

by Blair Thornburgh, Scott Campbell (Illustrator)

Overview

Debut picture book author Blair Thornburgh and award-winning illustrator Scott Campbell put their heads together to celebrate one of the most important bones in your body: the skull!

You probably don’t think much about skulls.
So what’s the big deal about them?

Well, every head
of every person
you’ve ever seen
has a skull inside.

And that includes YOU!

This smart, skull-positive story cheerfully dispels any fears kids might have about their skeletons, flipping our view of skulls from a spooky symbol to a fascinating, cool, and crucial part of our bodies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534414006
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	07/23/2019
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Blair Thornburgh is the author of several books for kids and teens. A graduate of the Hamline MFA Program in writing for children and young adults, she lives outside of Philadelphia. Visit her online at BlairThornburgh.com.

Scott Campbell’s paintings have appeared in numerous shows and publications around the world. He has created award-winning comics, such as “Igloo Head and Tree Head,” which appeared in the Flight anthology, and is the illustrator of Zombie in Love and Zombie in Love 2 + 1 by Kelly DiPucchio; East Dragon, West Dragon by Robyn Eversole; and If Dogs Run Free by Bob Dylan. He is the author and illustrator of Hug Machine. Scott lives in New York City. Visit him at PyramidCar.com.

Editorial Reviews

"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."

School Library Journal

"Guaranteed to get kids giggling and proclaiming, 'I love my skull!'"

Booklist

"A page of 'Cool Skull Facts!' opposite a final, fairly anatomically correct image gives this good odds of becoming a STEM and storytime favorite. Readers who have never thought of it before will agree: 'Take care of your skull, because you only get one.'"

Kirkus Reviews

"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."

BCCB

"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."

BookPage

"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!'"

Shelf Awareness

"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."

Parents Magazine

"This highly entertaining disquisition reminds readers, things that seem frightening at first can become quite wonderful once you get to know them."

April 8, 2019 - Publisher's Weekly

"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."

The Horn Book

"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."

Parents Magazine

"Guaranteed to get kids giggling and proclaiming, 'I love my skull!'"

Booklist

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."

Kirkus Reviews