ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Aug 2026
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780063455887
“The humor is dry and character-driven throughout, and the friendship utterly genuine. Scott’s text sits on clean white pages opposite full, cheerful artwork, including a showstopping spread of the pair dancing together in the flower-drenched garden. Prose and artwork blend seamlessly for a reminder that appearances—bony or otherwise—don’t always tell the whole story. Funny, vibrant, and surprisingly tender—in short, everything a good friendship should be.” KIRKUS
“What is not said in the text is fully articulated in the stunningly expressive digital illustrations that deploy small visual cues to amplify the humor; the scenes in which Cat tries to show Skeleton how to properly eat a sandwich, for example, are made especially comedic by the smiling then unimpressed then horrified faces of the figures in the portraits hanging above them on the wall. ” MUSE
This book garnered five starred reviews in the US. It is rare for books to even receive three. Will it be as well received in the UK? Publishing here this week.
A humorous and touching tale of the unexpected friendship that blossoms between a peaceful skeleton and a persistent cat, told in five short and charming stories.
Skeleton lives alone in lonesome bliss. She reads books, drinks tea, and tends to her garden. It’s simple and peaceful. Until, one day, a cat knocks on the Skeleton’s door…
“Can I come in?” asks the Cat.
Readers and cat lovers of all ages will adore this surprising duo who is sure to convince you that skeletons are gardeners, cats tell good-ish jokes, and, together, they make the best of friends.
Follow Brandon James Scott’s Instagram account. It’s where the idea for the book began, as he told Betsy Bird:
It was originally just a personal art project with these two characters and was never intended as a book. I treated it as a playground for visual ideas for the longest time, and shared them online and built a bit of a following. But after making hundreds of illustrations, the Skeleton and the Cat really started to develop strong personalities and felt like real characters so… I had to do something with them. I have to credit my wonderful literary agent, Emily Van Beek at Folio Jr., for the gentle nudge to pursue making a book with them. She really convinced me it was something worth trying.
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"Funny, vibrant, and surprisingly tender—in short, everything a good friendship should be."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ✪by Brandon James Scott https://t.co/RuCX5lJPi9
Follow @KirkusReviews for more book recommendations! pic.twitter.com/hXD9tnRht5
— Kirkus Reviews (@KirkusReviews) July 27, 2026
★ “Droll” picture book THE SKELETON AND THE CAT from Brandon James Scott “adds up to a friendship story with a bona fide funny bone—and soul to spare” https://t.co/CHmVXVthRc
— Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) May 27, 2026
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