Skeleton Meets the Mummy!

Skeleton Meets the Mummy

Written by Steve Metzger

Illustrated by Aaron Zenz

Scholastic Inc., 2010

30 Pages

Fantasy

          I chose this book because I love Steve Metzgers book, and this one was no different! This book tells the story of Sammy, a skeleton who is ready to go trick-or-treating with his friend because they won’t even have to dress up! His mom puts a halt on his plan when she tells him he has to take soup to his grandmother. On his way to grandmother’s house, he hears noises and shadows that scare him. Something begins following him so he runs through the woods, but the thing is too fast. He turns around and it is a mummy, or is it?  You will have to read this book to find out.

          The illustrations in this book seem to be created digitally. The contrast of black and primary pops of color create the perfect illustrations for this book. The illustrations cover a two page spread featuring informal and very informal text placement. The cover features a double page spread. The use of proportion is important in the book. When Sammy sees the mummy, the focus of the page is on the mummy and the mummy looks much larger than Sammy, showing that the mummy has power over Sammy. 

          This book would be a great book to use as an introduction to onomatopoeia at Halloween. This book is full of onomatopoeia such as screech! Click! Clack! Scritch! Scratch! It would also be a great book to teach younger students that thinks aren’t always as they seem, Sammy saw monsters in the trees and is scared by a bat. Children often get scared and hear and see things that are not really there when they go out at night. This might help them overcome their fears. This could be used as an example in art class of a book created with digital media. Students could create their own art work on the computer.This book has not received any awards.