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Crackly Bones
Crackly Bones Deluxe Large Format Full Colour Edition An illustrated children's book in collaboration with artist Simon Schild. Three hundred years ago from now, when land was tilled with horse and plough An innocent man was hunted down, and thrown into a lake to drown Over time, the lake stagnated, and memory of the man abated But one dark night there came a storm, and Crackly Bones, the fiend, was born! Synopsis Three hundred years ago, an innocent man was accused of wizardry, and the lies of a child led to his murder at the hands of a frenzied mob. Tonight, he’s back for his revenge. The villagers are stirred into action when signs of Crackly Bones’ impending arrival are witnessed. Led by Jones, the owner of the public house, the people gather and agree to fight, a decision that will have devastating consequences for the entire village. Overview Crackly Bones is a morally complex tale aimed at adults and older children. It is an updated, modern take on the grisly fairy tales of old, told entirely in rhyme. It is a very dark story, focusing on a monster that boils down naughty children in his big black pot, in order to use the fleshy brew to feed his garden. However, things are not so black and white, and readers will find that by the end of the story they have a certain amount of sympathy for Crackly Bones, as it emerges that there is a history of lies and murder, and blood on the hands of the villagers’ descendants. Amazon This is a wonderful book and very cleverly done. I never thought I'd like a book written entirely in verse, but this one works! OK so it is not War and Peace length, but the story is good, the verse is good and the illustrations are good. For the price how can you possibly go wrong? This is really good, the illustrations are excellent & even though I don't usually go for 'poetry' this is a good story - great for kids & adults alike. I could see this being adapted for TV. Go ahead & buy it, you won't regret it. A great bargain. I just love it! What am I most impressed by? The illustrations? The story itself? Or the fact that someone has managed to create a whole book in rhyme without being nonsensical? A well crafted item and one that you could see being picked up by a major publisher or an animated story on TV....
- GenresHorror
70 pages, Paperback
First published April 8, 2011
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2014
This was a pretty good Horror story picture book for Adults done in a rhyming poem about a man who was treated poorly, drowned and became a skeleton demon named Crackly Bones who kidnaps naughty children to feed to the trees. I got this for free on Smashwords and the artwork was pretty good too. Definitely check it out if you like horror stories.
September 8, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Splendidly scary, wonderfully imaginative, I loved it!, 31 Dec. 2013
This review is from: Crackly Bones (Redux 2014) (Kindle Edition)
This cracking good tale of Crackly Bones really makes me wish I had children and grandchildren to share it with. It's entirely written in very good rhyme which makes it wonderful for reading aloud and sharing. The illustrations by Simon Schild are exquisite, the perfect juxtaposition of the ancient, such as the Ent-like trees seeking vengeance, and the perfectly twenty-first century pub characters.
It's written in exquisite rhyme
Which tells the tale of ancient times.
An old man, much misunderstood
By others in his neighbourhood.
It manages to encapsulate so many themes within the narrative - the gardener/healer old man, cleaving to the old ways, at harmony with nature, completely misunderstood by those who fear him for what they do not understand.
A simple misunderstanding, caused by a young boy who's been fed tales bred from fear and suspicion, leading to a tragic event and dire consequences which roll on through the years. In the style of wonderful old-fashioned tales for children, there is a moral to the story, and a very good one, too.
My own childhood was long ago and it reminds me of the dark fairy stories my mother would read to me. A simply wonderful tale for parents and children to share, or for any adult wanting to recapture those days when we grew up, and did very well, on a diet of grisly ghost stories.
Highly starred and highly recommended.
This review is from: Crackly Bones (Redux 2014) (Kindle Edition)
This cracking good tale of Crackly Bones really makes me wish I had children and grandchildren to share it with. It's entirely written in very good rhyme which makes it wonderful for reading aloud and sharing. The illustrations by Simon Schild are exquisite, the perfect juxtaposition of the ancient, such as the Ent-like trees seeking vengeance, and the perfectly twenty-first century pub characters.
It's written in exquisite rhyme
Which tells the tale of ancient times.
An old man, much misunderstood
By others in his neighbourhood.
It manages to encapsulate so many themes within the narrative - the gardener/healer old man, cleaving to the old ways, at harmony with nature, completely misunderstood by those who fear him for what they do not understand.
A simple misunderstanding, caused by a young boy who's been fed tales bred from fear and suspicion, leading to a tragic event and dire consequences which roll on through the years. In the style of wonderful old-fashioned tales for children, there is a moral to the story, and a very good one, too.
My own childhood was long ago and it reminds me of the dark fairy stories my mother would read to me. A simply wonderful tale for parents and children to share, or for any adult wanting to recapture those days when we grew up, and did very well, on a diet of grisly ghost stories.
Highly starred and highly recommended.
November 9, 2011
Sadly I don't believe Crackly Bones is currently available.
The graphics work very well on the Kindle for PC application where they are in glorious technicolour :)
On the Kindle they still work well.
The tale is an ideal "bedtime read" suitably spooky and scary in all the right places. Hey, we only think that kids are sweet and innocent - we all actually know they love the gruesome bits :)
I loved it. I loved reading it. I loved reading it aloud to the kids.
Many thanks CW.
The graphics work very well on the Kindle for PC application where they are in glorious technicolour :)
On the Kindle they still work well.
The tale is an ideal "bedtime read" suitably spooky and scary in all the right places. Hey, we only think that kids are sweet and innocent - we all actually know they love the gruesome bits :)
I loved it. I loved reading it. I loved reading it aloud to the kids.
Many thanks CW.
April 2, 2012
Horror Verse
This was unexpectedly enjoyable. The verse is pretty amusing and I was impressed by how well the author kept it going.
It might not be quite in the class of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe but it is still a funny narrative poem.
The Computer graphics were great as well. They actually show up quite well on the kindle but really come into their own on the Kindle App for PC.
This was unexpectedly enjoyable. The verse is pretty amusing and I was impressed by how well the author kept it going.
It might not be quite in the class of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe but it is still a funny narrative poem.
The Computer graphics were great as well. They actually show up quite well on the kindle but really come into their own on the Kindle App for PC.
September 8, 2014
Loved loved loved this read. Its a brilliant piece of verse, and even though its for children ive read it several times, once on my own then seperatley to each one of my boys. Ive kept it on my kindle and cant wait to read it next summer round the camp fire when we're camping lol.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews