NO SKIN SLIM

A skeleton and a young boy find friendship in Deen’s debut picture book.

Slim, a skeleton, is scared when an apparent robber comes into his house; at the same time, Gus, a light-skinned human child, is frightened when an apparent monster pops out of his closet. Slim protests that he’s not a monster, and Gus claims he’s just a kid in a superhero mask and pajamas. Gus offers to share his bike with Slim if the skeleton will share the room, and a friendship is born. There’s only one problem: Gus is afraid that others may misunderstand and find Slim scary. Gus tries everything—tinfoil, shaving cream, and other items—to try to disguise his friend’s bare bones, each time saying, “Don’t worry, Slim. Gus the Great will get you some skin.” When they finally find a solution, Slim takes his bike ride. Deen uses accessible language, short sentences, repeated phrases, and occasional rhymes to engage young readers in this not-so-spooky monster tale. The text flows well as a read-aloud, with plenty of opportunity for lap readers to chime in when words become familiar. Wang’s soft-edged, painterly illustrations ably capture Gus’ quest, Slim’s sadness, and their joy at solving a problem together, adding details and comedy. A final coloring page invites youngsters to imagine their own solutions.

An appealing tale for spooky storytimes.