The Skull

Jon Klassen's retelling of a traditional Tyrolean folktale is wonderfully off-kilter and tender. At the heart of the book lies the friendship between Otilla, a brave girl who has run away from home, and the skull she happens upon in a big abandoned house on a hill. The graphite and ink illustrations are dark and grainy and beautiful. It's a book for brave readers who, like my nephew, like things a little spooky and strange.