دوستی اسکلتی

by Paweł Pawlak, محمدرضا فرزاد (Translator)

اگر بتوانید دنیا را برعکس کنید و به آنچه در طرف مقابل است نگاه کنید شاید چیزی را پیدا کنید که هرگز انتظار آن را نداشته باشید. مانند دوستی. اسکلت کوچک غمگین روی جلد این کتاب شاید خیلی امیدوارکننده به نظر نرسد، اما وقتی اسکار با یک دختر کوچک تنها آشنا می‌شود، این شروع ماجراجویی برای هر دو است. آن‌ها با هم سفری غیرمعمول را به دو دنیای بسیار متفاوت، هر یک زیبا و ضروری، انجام می‌دهند. و همه‌چیز از افتادن دندان دختر کوچک شروع می شود... .

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Halloween, Skeletons, Fantasy, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Dream.M · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کتاب کودک درباره دوستیه، دوستی یه آدم و اسکلت
فضای سورئال شادی داره، منو یاد داستان های آمریکای لاتین میندازه

[Samin Anvari · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان درمورد اسکلتی هستش که احساس تنهایی میکنه و حالا با افتادن دندونش فکر میکنه دیگه خیلی زشت تر از اونی هست که بتونه دوستی پیدا کنه و در همون حال با دختری مواجه میشه که داره دندونش رو داخل خاک میکاره تا آرزوش (که پیدا کردن یک دوست خوبه)براورده شه.
دخترک و اسکلت تصمیم میگیرن کارهایی که همیشه دوست داشتن با دوستشون انجام بدن و جاهایی که دوست داشتن باهم برن رو به همدیگه نشون بدن و ادامه داستان .... :))

بامزه بود، مخصوصا به نظرم برای بچه‌ها این‌که با یک اسکلت همراه بشن و ببینن اگر دوست صمیمی داشت باهاش کجاها میرفت میتونه جذاب باشه.
اما به شدت تکراری و قابل پیش بینی بود.

[Roya · Rating 4 out of 5]

تصویرسازی شدیدا خلاقانه و زیبا و محشری داشتتتتت😭🩵

[Zahra Naderi · Rating 3 out of 5]

گفته بودم چو بیایی غم دل با تو بگویم
چه بگویم که غم از دل برود چون تو بیایی

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar Seeks a Friend is a cute story about friendship with eye-catching illustrations. Pawlak somehow manages to make a skeleton look cute!

Oscar is a bit lonely. He's just lost a tooth, and it doesn't help his already unusual appearance. So when he sees a little girl burying her lost tooth in the ground to make her dreams come true (an interesting departure from the Tooth Fairy myth we often see in children's books), he asks her if he can have it. She agrees... but only if he'll help her find a friend--which is, of course, her wish.

The pair travel through each other's worlds, pointing out all the wonders that they would show to a friend... if they had one. (Of course, you can see where this is going.) The illustrations really bring those worlds to life. I especially like Oscar's, with all the skeleton people and animals, and the unusual touches of life in what is ostensibly a world of death. A simple collage technique is used to create the complex illustrations where there's plenty to look at. And those pictures fit in with the text quite nicely. This book has been translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, and it's a lovely translation; I can't find much to fault in the narrative itself.

For readers looking for quirky books about friendship--even if one of the people seeking a friend is technically dead--Oscar Seeks a Friend might be just the thing. It's got a delicious aesthetic and a bit of a twist on traditions involving children's lost teeth.

Quotable moment:

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Oscar is missing something, and it is not what you think. He begins to look for it, and finally finds someone who can help. She doesn't even know how she can help, but he does. She is burying the tooth she just lost, and protests when he asks her for it. . . that's what he's lost. (Evoked big laugh from my crowd and the youngest shouted that he lost his skin, not just a tooth.)

By book's end both of them, he and she, had found a new friend. Different than their others, but friends nonetheless.

[Filoména · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nádhera! Okouzlena!

[Milky way · Rating 4 out of 5]

اکلیلی شدم حقیقتا ♡.

[Margaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar feels unlovable enough as it is, but when he looses a tooth he knows he'll be even less appealing. How will he ever find a friend now? He experiences a living girl's world as she shows him what she would do if she had a friend, and he shows her his world on the other side.

These illustrations (artwork, really) are so unique , I'm just blown away. Learn about Pawel Pawlak's process putting these haunting illustrations together here.



Originally published in Poland, Pawlak is a prolific illustrator and I can't wait to see more of his work.

[Essareh · Rating 4 out of 5]

۱.زشتی ظاهر چقدر روی دوستی تأثیر داره؟
۲.دوتا دوست چقدر می‌تونن متفاوت باشن؟ مثلاً یکی از دنیای مرده‌ها باشه و یکی از دنیای زنده‌ها.

الآن که بهش فکر می‌کنم، سرگردون بودن اسکلته روی زمین و بردن دختره پیش مرده‌ها یه‌کم، یه‌کمممم ترسناکه. درسته هرکدوم برگشتن سر کار و زندگیشون ولی بازم...

ممنون که خوندید.💙
۲۲ دی ۱۴۰۳، ایستگاه مترو.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just darling overall! And I loved that Simon’s world had a lot of beauty in it too and wasn’t just creepy skeletons.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! I'm not always a huge fan of mixed media artwork in picture books because I find that they're often so higgledy-piggledy in their color schemes that they are visually confusing and it distracts from the story (or sometimes they're just straight up ugly). Here, though, the artwork was so interesting and full of character! I also loved the themes of friendship and self acceptance :)

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story gets a little lost in translation from the original Polish, but the whimsical paper collage illustrations redeem this story of a most unusual friendship.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a Halloween story or a slightly creepy picture book, this story about a little skeleton on the quest for a friend is funny and charming.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creepy little sweetie book about two people trying to help the other find a friend, until they realize they’ve already done so by finding each other.

The color scheme and tone bring to mind (in ascending maturity level) How to Make Friends with a Ghost, The Skull, A House Called Awful End, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Through the Woods. The illustrations are really interesting mixed media with tons of little details to pore over. Good stuff!

[Rézina Dějová · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moc nechápu proč tyhle knížky s krásnýma ilustracema a s obsahem na h**** vůbec vycházejí. Obrázky jsou opravdu neobvyklý, krásný, ale jak už bylo řečeno v review u velrybí Gerdy, ani u knížek pro nejmenší děti obrázky nejsou všechno.

Kostík je kostra. Nemá žádný background, povahu. Má jenom smutný štěnečí oči. Ztratí zoubek. Zoubek najde živá holčička. Kostík se s holčičkou skamarádí. Konec.

Dospělý to přečte za tři minuty. S dětmi u knížky můžete strávit třeba až patnáct minut, ale to už možná dost přeháním. My to doma s dcerou dali i s nějakým tím povídáním kolem, prohlížením obrázků, počítáním předmětů na obrazcích a s pauzou na čůrání za deset.

Běžná cena za těch 10 minut se v knihkupectvích pohybuje kolem 250 Kč. Dokážu se představit i kvalitněji investovaný peníze do společnýho času s dětma.

[Jessica✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn’t much to the story itself. But I think if you read it you will understand what the author was trying to tell the reader. The beauty of this book is the artwork. Absolutely gorgeous. I think that children will like it beside of the length and the really cute skeletons.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my thing.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

if a you could recommend younger fans of a nightmare before christmas a book, this would be it. the illustrations are beautiful and intriguing collages and the story itself is heartwarming (the ending was a sweet little twist!) 🖤

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arresting paper collage images in this story about skeleton seeking to replace a missing tooth. Originally published in Poland.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IEDv...

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

wholesome n cute :')

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the illustrations in this book to be really unique and creative which I loved a lot. The story is cute to, sometimes when you aren't looking for a friend you find one and I found that to be a cute and useful message for children.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover looks a bit grim, but inside is a touching story about friendship, wrapped in a heartwarming romp through the wonders of childhood.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely context about two unlikely people who become friends. Love how the illustrations change as the characters move between their two worlds.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar is a little skeleton who has lost a tooth. He thinks he looks entirely dreadful without it and wonders if he will ever find someone to play with. So when he sees a little girl burying a tooth, he asks her for it. But she is burying the tooth in order to have a wish come true. Then she takes another look at Oscar and starts to laugh. She agrees to give him the tooth if he helps her find a friend. The two head off, and she shows Oscar all of the lovely things she would show a friend, including rainbows, meadows, and the seaside. Oscar then brings her into his world and shows her parks and libraries and sleeping butterflies. The two realize at the end of the day together that they both got what they wished for, tooth or no tooth.

This Polish import is a treat just right for Halloween with its skeleton main character. Oscar is an entirely human skeleton with worries about making friends. The book plays against Oscar being a skeleton nicely as the little human girl isn’t scared of him for even a moment. There’s something very endearing about him and the entire book focuses on connections rather than frights.

The illustrations are what make this book special. Done in paper collage with 3D elements, the images are tactile and full of texture. The worlds of each of the characters is distinct in color and content. Oscar’s is dark with pops of color and the human world is bright and filled with sun, rain and rainbows. The play of the two against one another is visually gorgeous on the page.

Charming rather than scary, this is a autumn treat. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar believes that if he could find a tooth (to replace a recently missing one), he’d make a friend. He tells us that “It’s hard for a small, ugly skeleton to make friends. And with a tooth missing, I looked so dreadful that I thought I’d never, ever have anyone to play with except Tag.”

He discovers a little girl burying her recently lost tooth, “because if you bury a tooth, your dreams will come true.” And she proceeds to tell him her dream of finding a friend and all the things she and this friend would do. And as he tells us what she tells him, they proceed to do many of these things. You knew this was coming. What is unexpected is that she takes a turn joining Oscar in seeing places and doing activities important to him. It’s lovely.

That ending is even lovelier (and it doesn’t hurt that the two kind of reminding me of a young Jack and Sally).

The artwork is 3D paper collage, completed digitally. It adds immense visual interest and texture to charming effect—which is good for those textless pages. I love the presence of plant-life in both worlds; how fluid and obvious the story makes their boundaries. It seemed natural in both narration and illustration that the girl and Oscar would happen upon each other.

Oscar Seeks a Friend may be an obvious October read, but I think it’s a wonderful year-round option. It has a good story told in an unusual first person with an unusual style of illustration. It really is just a beautiful book.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Seeks a Friend is a lovely book showing an unusual friendship in a beautiful way. Oscar is missing a tooth and thinks he needs it in order to seek a friend so when he sees a little girl who has lost a tooth he asks if he can have it and it starts a beautiful friendship.

I wasn't sure what the children would think but they loved this book and didn't find it scary at all, they quite liked Oscar the skeleton and his friends! It is really nice that we got to see the contrast of both worlds, Oscar and the girls, and it shows how even if you're different you can still be friends.

The illustrations are what make this book really interesting and unique. The children were fascinated by all the different textures in the pictures and wanted to feel it even though the book has no texture to it, it's just appears that way with lots of paper style pictures. The pictures were also very intriguing from the darker pages of oscars world to the beautiful and colourful world of the little girls. The children particularly liked the rainbow page as it looked like great fun.

We really enjoyed this story, such a beautiful story of friendship that ended up proving you don't have to look a certain way to find a friend.

[Ellie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. More of a fusion text than a picture book, but with plenty to interpret from the illustrations. Pawlak tells the story of a little skeleton boy who is desperate to make a friend, but sees his own appearance as something that makes the prospect quite hopeless. This is, until he meets a little girl who says she also hopes to find a friend. Together they explore what they might do were they to have finally found a companion.
I adored the collage illustrations and the way that Pawlak built two different worlds that characters could cross over into, separated by the gutter and using contrasting colours. I feel that children would be really interested in just how these two worlds function, with an absence of adults in the human world and an abundance of them in the skeleton world. Some deep and interesting conversations about mortality might also stem from this, as well as questions about the power held by the little girl.

[Tayler K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the art style and the endpapers were very rich and lovely. (This is a nice matte feel to the paper too.) The little skeleton fireflies or whatever they are are cool.

Cute enough story. I liked several little details, but feel pretty neutral overall.

When I saw that this was translated, I was not expecting Polish to be the original language--neat!

"I stopped dead" was cute, I wonder if that bit of wordplay was carried over from the original. How fun.

I've never heard "if you bury a tooth, your dreams will come true" before, I wonder if that is a common superstition in Poland or something the author made up.

I loved the library in skeleton-world!! And "Then I showed her a huge library full of books I hadn't yet had time to read." Isn't that something, as a bookworm, to think that even with eternity at hand, you'll still have books left to read!

I appreciated that on the last page (opposite the copyright) the nameplate-type sticker says "Oscar has found a friend" now.