Halloween Treat - Funnybones!

"This is how the story begins.

On a dark dark hill

there was a dark dark town.

In the dark dark town

there was a dark dark street.

In the dark dark street

there was a dark dark house.

In the dark dark house

there was a dark dark staircase.

Down the dark dark staircase

there was a dark dark cellar.

And in the dark dark cellar....

... some skeletons lived."

 This is by far, in my opinion, one of the most iconic openings to any children's book EVER! But then I am a little bias! Although 40 years on it is still a much loved story and I would bet has been read to most of the people in this country at some point in their lifetime. And if you're anywhere near my age, you probably grew up watching the brilliant animated series too (hop on Youtube if not!). It is of course the wonderfully spooky Funnybones by Janet and Alan Ahlberg! 

 As it is Halloween I thought I'd throw in a themed post this week, and so I raided my collection for something suitably scary! And when I say scary, I mean downright adorable! What's not to love about these skeletons and their dog? They have all the hallmarks of a classic comedy double act, one's little, one's big, they share a bed like Morecambe and Wise or Bert and Ernie, and of course one wears a silly hat! It's perfect! 

I'm sure you all know the story of Funnybones, but i'll give you a little reminder. The skeleton's decide to take the dog for a walk and scare someone while they are out. They end up in the park, where unfortunately the dog has a little accident and ends up as a pile of bones! Cue my favourite scene, where they have to try and put the dog back together, with hilarious results! I've always loved the set of illustrations here, and the idea that the bark depends on how the dog is assembled!

After they have successfully put the skeleton dog back together they go off looking for someone to scare. But the problem is everyone's asleep! Everyone except the skeleton animals in the zoo. Obviously. So they have a bit of fun there riding an elephant and chatting to the parrot.

But what's a good night out without scaring someone?! Probably very dull, if you're a skeleton! The few pages that follow are fab! Big and Little decide to scare each other, for lack of victims! They jump out from behind bushes at each other, hide in washing, and the dog chases them! It turns out they're massive scaredy-cats! 

I just want to say how much I love the illustrations in this book! They are absolutely charming, much like all of the Ahlberg's picturebooks. They are simple, playful, and vibrant. They make use of framing so well, and you get the feeling of reading not only a picturebook but also a comic. In Funnybones in particular their choice of colours is really effective. As we are told at the start, this story takes place in the dark, at night. Therefore a lot of the text is set against a black background. The use of white text, not only matches the colour of the skeletons, but also shows us what writing looks like in the dark! For the child reader this is probably not that obvious, but as an adult reader I see it as a lovely little nod to the way a child thinks. How else would your story show up!? These bold contrasts and brightly coloured illustrations make it an excellent books for all ages, from something that is visually stimulating for younger listeners, to the clear simple text and repetition for the early reader. This book has it all! 

Happy Halloween! 

Lx

Ps. Back to the list next time for the classic modern picturebook Guess How Much I Love You