Skeleton Tree by Kim Ventrella is told from the 12-year-old Stanly Stanwright’s point of view. It’s a touching tale with an innocent view of the world as seen from the eyes of our young hero, and even though there is much to be sad and down about the kind of life he has, Stanly still chooses to see the bright side of things.

As the story progresses, we see him grow as he learns to deal with both tears and laughter, partings and new beginnings.

Stanly’s father, who had gone somewhere for a job, has not been heard from for some months, while his mother struggles to handle the demands of a single working parent. His little sister, Miren, is ill and the kids have the kind Ms Francine as the family’s babysitter.

Stanley finds a bone sticking out in his backyard and soon it grows into a full skeleton. The boy gets excited as he hopes to use a picture of the growing skeleton to win a science context, but the skeleton tries its best to avoid being photographed. As skeleton ‘grows’ out of the ground, little Miren and Princy, as she calls the skeleton, form a strange bond and it follows her around, without being seen by any adult except for Ms Francine.

The more time Miren spends with the skeleton, the sicker she gets, and Stanly has to learn to handle life’s biggest lesson — losing your loved one and still living on with a zest for life to embrace the new things that come your way.

Skeleton Tree tries to keep a balance between some lighter and magical elements, and more serious realities of life so that middle schoolers enjoy the book, but some children will not enjoy those solemn moments. This book is not for those looking for some light adventures to read about.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 30th, 2017