After reading the previous Skullington Family book, I couldn’t wait to read the newest book The Skullington Family Skeletons in the Closet. Award-winning author M.J.Evans has created another fun-to-read book with lots of boney puns. “You see, Ulna, there is nothing to rattle your bones about,” or “I have a bone to pick.” I’m sure your family could come up with a few more skeleton puns if they pick their brains. School and public libraries will love this book because of the “humerus” punny terms that will encourage children to read. Parents will de-bone the book and arrange tips on getting children to stay in bed and go to sleep. Illustrator Yana Karpenko provides excellent evening illustrations with a light glow around the skeleton family. I love the illustrative technique of having three images in a circle on a page. The choice of font is excellent as it does look like bones.

The Skullington Family Skeletons in the Closet is a joint effort by author M.J. Evans and illustrator Yana Karpenko to create an entertaining and useful book for children and their parents. How do you get Ulna to stay in bed and go to sleep? All parents have experienced the “stay in bed” problem with babies and young children. Mr. and Mrs. Skullington offer suggestions that just seem to flow from their skull. You “kneed” to read it. When their daughter Ulna Skullington sees something in the closet, it sent chills up her spine, but her parents could see right through her. At the back of the book, Maxila shares a “humerus” skeleton joke, which children will like and Mr. and Mrs. Skullington list their favorite bedtime routine tips, which parents will like. A thumbs up to the newest book in The Skullington Family series of books

You may have heard people say that all families have “skeletons in their closet.” Do you know what that means? It means there are some dark secrets that weren’t meant to be shared. Even the Skullington family has skeletons in their closet. Rather strange, when you think of it, considering the fact that the Skullingtons are, quite simply, skeletons. It just so happens that Ulna is seeing things that frighten her (sound familiar?). As the reader follows Ulna’s growing fears, the Skullington family ‘humerus-ly’ (yes, that’s the correct Skullington spelling of the word humorously) deals with the young skeleton girl’s fear of lying in bed after dark and trying to go to sleep. She comes up with all kinds of excuses: she’s thirsty, there’s a scary beast outside her window and she doesn’t “have a leg to stand on,” and, this one’s the clincher, as she calls out to her parents, “I ‘kneed’ you…. There is a skeleton in my closet.” Mom and Dad, exhausted from this nightly routine, come up with a plan; it requires consistency and sticking to a prescribed routine.

M.J. Evans’s picture book story, The Skullington Family Skeletons in the Closet, is another fun-filled, action-packed addition to the Skullington Family series of stories. The plot follows a typical nighttime routine, complete with the not unexpected fears of a young child. While the author injects punny twists on words to relate them to parts of the human skeleton, the young reader will not only be laughing along but also learning some of the basics of skeleton anatomy. The young reader will also learn about justifiable fears, that they’re not alone in being afraid of the dark, and that they just need to know how to deal with it. The illustrations are as ‘humerus’ as the text and the story is complete with one of Max’s ‘humerus’ jokes and a list of bedtime tips to help young readers face their nighttime fears and fall asleep. A fun read.