Customer Reviews

Skeleton Hiccups

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Skeleton wakes up one morning (the headboard of his bed is a gravestone with RIP engraved on it) and discovers that he's got a bad case of the hiccups. He starts his day off, but the hiccups aren't making things easy for him. In the shower, he looses the soap. Brushing his teeth, his jaw flies off! Polishing his bones, the hiccups cause his arm to come undone! Carving a pumpkin and raking leaves aren't easy, either, with these bone-rattling hiccups!

When Skeleton goes outside to play ball with Ghost, the old remedies for curing hiccups are suggested. Skeleton eats some sugar (which falls through his jawbone and over his ribs), he drinks a glass of water standing on his head (he water gushes out of his eye sockets), and Ghost tries to scare him. Well, nothing works until Ghost gets a sneaky idea involving a mirror...

The team of Cuyler and Schindler have combined to produce a wonderful and funny book in "Skeleton Hiccups." The illustrations are big and bold with vibrant colors that delight the eye. Skeleton is beautifully drawn with enough detail to see his individual bones but not so much detail that he'd be scary to young children. Ghost, too, is a character, sporting a blue baseball cap he wears backwards and a pug nose. The pages are large and uncluttered and easy to read.

The text of "Skeleton Hiccups" is brief and simple, with small-font "hic! Hic! Hic!"s bouncing on each page as skeleton tries to go about his business with these pesky hiccups. When I read this book to a class of preschoolers, they really liked the hic-hic-hic part, and would repeat it every time they saw it on the page. Children who were normally a bit skittish around Halloween skeletons thought that this one was pretty funny, especially because he had troubles that they themselves have had!

"Skeleton Hiccups" is perfect for Halloween time, of course, but there's no reason why it should only be read during October. I showed the book to the art teacher at our school who immediately fell in love with it-"it's sooo hard for kids to draw skeletons!" she said, "they require so much detail. But THIS Skeleton is just perfect!" She went on to say that she intends to use this book and another one called "Hobgoblin and the Skeleton" to teach about human anatomy and proportion in her art classes.

For anyone who likes Halloween or a good laugh, for those of us who have a fascination with the human skeleton, this book comes highly recommended!!

Normally, I LOVE children's picture books and am quite forgiving if something isn't right about the story or the illustrations. However, this time I am going to say that I just don't care for this story.

S.D. Schindler's illustrations are great--very realistic, the color backgrounds are fabulous in making the skeleton stand out, there is ghoulish humor on almost every two-page spread. In fact, other reviewers note the humor, especially on the wake-up scene when Skeleton first has the hiccups. The walls are darkly purple, like bruises, the coverlet is a magnificent cardinal red, the bedside table is upheld by two grass green snakes, the foot board is a big bat spreading its wings, and the head board is a RIP tombstone. You can't get better than the sum of those items!

Skeleton's hiccups are so bad that doing simple everyday (night?) things breaks his jaw, breaks his arm, slices up a pumpkin he tries to carve with the jolt of hiccups, can't catch a ball because of jerking from hiccups. His friend Ghost gives several tips to ending hiccups--none work.

Finally, Ghost hands Skeleton a hand mirror. That does it--Skeleton shrieks in horror when he sees himself and his hiccups run away, kind of like fleas. I guess the means justifies the end in case of Hereafter friendships. I just wasn't satisfied with the ending.

I certainly would not want to discourage potential buyers from purchasing this book. Other reviewers love it. The illustrations are wonderful. That's all I am saying!

A simple word text by Margery Cuyler is wonderfully illustrated by S. D. Schindler making Skeleton Hiccups a highly recommendable and spooky picture book for young readers just learning to sound out their first words. The playful theme of a skeleton plagued with hiccups and the ingenious cure his ghost friend discovers make for a thoroughly delightful tale that is especially in keeping with the Halloween season.

Skeleton Hiccups is truly an original, and the artwork is the shining star. The images are creative, and hilarious! S.D. Schindler's work, the same illustrator of the famed Big 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.

In no way are the pictures scary, or upsetting. Margery Cuyler's writing is simplistic, and appropriate for the very young such as a 2-years old. Older children 6 and above might be amused, but bored. Skeleton Hiccups isn't a Halloween book per se, but it helped to get us in the mood for the season. My 5-year old adores this book and has slept with it for the last 10-days! A REAL winner in my corner!

My 3- and 4-year-old students absolutely LOVE this book. It's become one of my go-to gifts when buying books for children. Scholastic's audio recording is equally fantastic!

My son is fascinated by skeletons, so this book was a must! The repetitive text (key for beginning readers) is great fun to read and for him to start recognising words. We've been having a great time hic, hic, hic, reading together. Highly recommended.

My 5 year old checked this book out at our local library. He loved it and didn't want to take it back, so I bought it for him. It has simple sentiences that he can read to himself.

My 2 year old loves hearing this book, & he makes the "hic" sound along with me as we read it. Fun & clever. Amusing illustrations & scenes. A great halloween or hiccup book!

This story is entertaining for both adults and kids. As noted in other reviews, the skeleton character is drawn in a friendly light, non-threatening, and not scary. There is a lot of humour in this story that both adults and kids will find amusing. My students ask for this story every day, and they are getting quite proficient at reading the story using their own words (they are only ages 3-4). They also really enjoy doing the hiccups, especially acting out the jumping hiccups. This story is repetitive, funny, and many teachable moments can come out of it. A must-by!

My son's teacher read this book to their class one day, and my son fell in love with it. Both of my kids really enjoy this book - it's very cute. Product arrived in excellent condition.