The Ghost of Skinny Jack

by Astrid Lindgren, Ilon Wikland (Illustrator), Yvonne Hooker (Translator)

After visiting their grandmother and hearing a ghost story, a brother and sister take a scary walk through the woods.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Swedish Literature, Fiction, Horror

25 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, née Ericsson, (1907 - 2002) was a Swedish children's book author and screenwriter, whose many titles were translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries. She has sold roughly 165 million copies worldwide. Today, she is most remembered for writing the Pippi Longstocking books, as well as the Karlsson-on-the-Roof book series.

Awards:
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1958)

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary stories are fun to listen to, but sometimes they come back to haunt you. Best for older children who like ghost stories as this has some creepy elements.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astrid Lindgren is a master at capturing childhood and the way children think and what they will love. This book is no exception. If you have a youngster who is asking for ghost stories, you should try reading this one together.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The majority of illustrations are not to my taste, and I don't care for ghost stories. But the frame story, featuring two young siblings in Sweden, illustrated with Wikland's more usual charm and tenderness, more than makes up for the parts I didn't care for.

[Anneli]

Ilon Wikland, fantastisk barnboksillustratör, visar att hon är en minst lika mästerlig skräckillustratör. Jag tyckte det var en underbart läskig bok när jag var liten, och fick oväntat kalla kårar även som vuxen vid åsynen av Skinn Skerping.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a VERY neat story. It was kind of a story in a story kind of book. Two little children love to go to their Grandma’s house to hear their favorite story about Skinny Jack. The Grandma tells them the story and they ask just the right questions at just the right times (because they have heard it so many times). On one visit though, the story goes to the little girls imagination as her and her brother are on their way home from Grandma’s house. They take a shortcut through the woods so they can get home before dark and they brother is so busy playing his guitar he doesn’t really notice that his sister has fallen behind. Left separated some from her brother the little girl’s mind goes to the Skinny Jack Ghost story and soon as she feels something or someone grab her bag her mind goes straight to Skinny Jack’s Ghost. What really has hold of her? Is it Skinny Jack’s Ghost? You will be surprised at that answer when you read this book.

This book had very nice illustrations too. My son loved the pictures and how they seemed to go with the entire writing on that page, not just a single part of it.

We give it 5 out of 5 stars. It was a book I enjoyed reading and he enjoyed hearing and looking at. It also is a book that he can read on his own too, because the language fits what he is able to read.

[C.S.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me nightmares as a child. I love it! :)

[Linn J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lite skrämmande bok. Något jag inte är så van att höra med Astrids röst. Men den var trevlig att lyssna på, trots att den var lite otäck.

[Zahra tavakoli · Rating 2 out of 5]

عنوان ترجمه فارسی شبح جک لاغره
از آسترید لیندگرن توقع نداشتم داستان ترسناک نوشته باشد. به نظرم مناسب بالای ده یازده سالی که از ژانر وحشت لذت میبرد.

[Monobella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[_Mobinaishere_]

داستان کودک خوب که یه اتفاقی واقعا توش می افته و بسط داده می شه. از اون کتاب هایی که برای بچه های بزرگتر هستند و یک یا دو خط بیشتر در هر صفحه نیست و داستان ابلهانه است و بدون خلاقیت خسته بودم.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag hade inte ens hört talas om Astrid Lindgrens Skinn Skerping, hemskast av alla spöken i Småland förrän jag läste Helena Dahlgrens läsvärda 100 hemskaste , där den kommer in på plats nummer 15. Jag vet inte om jag personligen håller den korta bilderboken lika högt som Dahlgren, vare sig vad gäller hemskhet eller berättelsemässigt, men det är en ganska traditionell spökhistoria som berättas väl och förgylls av Ilon Wiklands illustrationer.