Customer Reviews

The DANCING SKELETON

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My son found this book at the school library last autumn and has been checking it out regularly ever since. The idea might seem macabre, but we think the story is hilarious. It's especially fun to read out loud--the language is great, really rhythmic. At 6, my son knows that people can't come back from the dead and that skeletons can't dance, and sees the humor in one that does, so we haven't had any death issues resulting from the book. I highly recommend this for a fun Halloween read. As the skeleton says, "Oooooweeee! Ain't we havin' fun!"

My two kids (3,4) love this book - they picked it up at the library, and we've read it six times in the last two days.

The prose is lyrical - I'm not at all unhappy when my daugher asks me to read it yet again, as it is really quite at its best when read aloud. I'm not a fan of horror, or even ghost stories, but this is really quite funny, and not at all disturbing. Indeed, it takes what would be a classic haunting story and makes light of it.

I'll definately buy this one if I can find a copy.

BTW "Are You Mad" needs to read it again - the village isn't celebrating (no one missed him, because he was mean), nor is the widow only interested in the insurance money (she's concerned that she won't be able to afford the coffin if Aaron doesn't stay dead, as the insurance won't pay if he isn't).

A childrens book that both you and your children will enjoy. One caveat... my kids have been introduced to "death" already - they're missing two grandparents and a horse, and we've talked about death a fair amount. Your mileage may vary.

I have been reading this wonderful book every year around Halloween to my students and we use percussion instruments with the sound words; such as rocked with a rachet and clicked with a castanet.
I also starting adding in the music of Saint-Saen's "Dance Macabre."
I put in a small bit of extra wording that the fiddler says right before he begins to play his violin..such as the clock strikes and he walks over to get his fiddle and tune it up, as the music starts. The music gets louder and faster just like the widow requests of the fiddler. I fade it out at the end of the story. It words really well and adds to the excitement of the reading.

This truly is my favorite book to read aloud to my kids. I stumbled across it at our local library, and was instantly drawn to it for its wonderful art. But as I read it that night to my kids, I was so impressed with the writing. The words flow perfectly. I was easily able to add funny character voices (as I love to do.) Don't you hate it when you try to do that & the book makes it difficult to see whose voice you should be doing or has so many characters it gets confusing? Well anyway, this book is such a fun read. My kids (8 & 5) & I LOVE it. It keeps our interest from the first word to the last. And we always get many chuckles. They have never been scared of it and I am in no way offended by its content. I am quite disappointed that this book is out of print. PLEASE bring it back!!! We have since checked out other books done by this author/illustrator (Cold Feet is another fav.)

While the story does involve a dead man randomly coming out of his grave as a walking skeleton, this story is light-hearted, and the illustrations are fun and not at all scary. I read this book as a child, and searched for it for years. Having read it again as an adult, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it just as much. The plot is clever and well-told. This book is perfect for anyone with a slightly warped sense of humor, child or adult.

My son and I found this book at a library in Spain. Every week he would want to check it out again. When I first began looking for this book to own, it was out of print. We finally found it again here and have been enjoying it since. We have lent it to several friends who have also enjoyed the book.

A word of warning: the book starts explicitly with the husband's death. Some people don't want their kids exposed to matters such as this. I do not think this book would be a useful book to explain the concept of death to a child. It takes death very lightly and is a fun book to read. But for a child who has had a recent loss, the idea of the loved one coming back as a skeleton and sitting in the living room might be a bit too much.

Great Halloween book! We truly enjoy this book!

My three year old son has a fascination with skeletons. We checked this book out of the library and read it to him many times. It is so funny. I am now buying a copy, I hope for Christmas.

The text and illustrations complement each other perfectly in this amusingly gruesome but never too-scary tale about a man who wouldn't let his wife have any peace in life--or death. Just try to read it aloud without a bit of a mountain twang! What a pity that it isn't more widely known.

As a teacher, I really enjoyed reading the Dancing Skeleton to the students. It is vibrant and energetic, with a great text.

How in God's name can any of you justify this horrible book? It's written for children and tells a tale of how an entire village celebrates a man's death! Then to top it all off it even goes into detail about how the widow is so happy that her husband has died because now she gets his life insurance money! What exactly is the author trying to teach kids? How to make money by hoping someone dies, or even better how to kill for money? This book isn't fit reading for any age.