Funnybones

The fun begins with the endpapers to this sprightly, meandering, waggish tale of three skeletons' night out - and it continues on the title page, where the Ahlbergs' big skeleton, little skeleton, and dog skeleton step up their comical cavorting. Inside, black-as-night backgrounds combine with cheerful kindergarten style and color as the skeletons set out rakishly to walk the dog and frighten somebody. They play in the park, romp with animal skeletons at the zoo (the live animals are all asleep), and end up frightening each other when they can't find anyone else to frighten. The funniest sequence deals with the dog skeleton's crashing himself to pieces and the other skeletons' cockeyed attempts to reassemble him. ( Wofo! Oofu! Owof! Foow! goes the mixed-up dog, as the hits and misses proceed.) Unfortunately, this comes fairly early and so lends a downhill slope to what follows. Still, there are some funny scares at the end, and much jolly bone-rattling throughout. (Kirkus Reviews)