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A review by saareman
John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan
5.0
The Retirement of Skeleton John
A review of the Restless Books -Yonder hardcover (October 1, 2024) translated by [a:Adam Cullen|3518709|Adam Cullen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1503270675p2/3518709.jpg] from the Estonian language original [b:Luukere Juhani juhtumised|55809406|Luukere Juhani juhtumised|Triinu Laan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603754084l/55809406._SX50_.jpg|87021707] [Skeleton John's Incidents] (2020).
The real-life John the Skeleton with the author Triinu Laan. Image sourced from YouTube.
I'm not much of a fan of horror and fantasy, but this children's picture book with its fantastical stories of a skeleton's retirement from being an anatomy classroom display is just my speed for this month of Spooktober.
John is adopted by elderly couple Grams and Gramps and now lives on their farm while accompanying them on various excursions along with their grandkids. There is a subtext here of accepting the end of life and how death is always with us. But in the meantime there are the joys of family and friendship.
Triinu Laan delights with her imagination which is accompanied by the playful drawings of Marja-Liisa Plats. The English translation by Adam Cullen, the hugely prolific translator from Estonian, flows perfectly and smoothly.
My Estonian heritage is of course a bias here, but I think everyone would find John the Skeleton a perfect spooky read for Hallowe'en month.
Trivia and Link
Theoretically there is a discussion guide at Restless Books for this book. You have to go through an order process for it, even though it is free. However, it failed to work for me and I was left with a message of "Order not found" and no download. In case you have better luck, you can try here.
A review of the Restless Books -Yonder hardcover (October 1, 2024) translated by [a:Adam Cullen|3518709|Adam Cullen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1503270675p2/3518709.jpg] from the Estonian language original [b:Luukere Juhani juhtumised|55809406|Luukere Juhani juhtumised|Triinu Laan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603754084l/55809406._SX50_.jpg|87021707] [Skeleton John's Incidents] (2020).
An ordinary Estonian's dream is to live in a house where their closest neighbours are at least half a kilometre away. When John got the chance to retire and live on a farm in Võrumaa, which is one of the farthest corners of the country, his dream came true.
The real-life John the Skeleton with the author Triinu Laan. Image sourced from YouTube.I'm not much of a fan of horror and fantasy, but this children's picture book with its fantastical stories of a skeleton's retirement from being an anatomy classroom display is just my speed for this month of Spooktober.
John is adopted by elderly couple Grams and Gramps and now lives on their farm while accompanying them on various excursions along with their grandkids. There is a subtext here of accepting the end of life and how death is always with us. But in the meantime there are the joys of family and friendship.
Triinu Laan delights with her imagination which is accompanied by the playful drawings of Marja-Liisa Plats. The English translation by Adam Cullen, the hugely prolific translator from Estonian, flows perfectly and smoothly.
My Estonian heritage is of course a bias here, but I think everyone would find John the Skeleton a perfect spooky read for Hallowe'en month.
Trivia and Link
Theoretically there is a discussion guide at Restless Books for this book. You have to go through an order process for it, even though it is free. However, it failed to work for me and I was left with a message of "Order not found" and no download. In case you have better luck, you can try here.