Customer Reviews

Cautionary Tales for Children

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Edward Gorey's first major posthumous publication is like a newly forged work, with freshness and originality. Published several times since 1907, Harcourt's reprint of "Cautionary Tales for Children" contains sixty-one new illustrations enfolding the 95-year old verse, and the result is very satisfying.

Gorey created these illustrations several years ago, but for some reason, chose not publish them while he was alive. Gorey's Victorian style is a delightful fit for Belloc's verse. In fact, those already familiar with Belloc's Cautionary Tales or Cautionary Verses series may very well conclude that they were strong influences for Gorey's "The Beastly Baby", "The Gashlycrumb Tines", "The Epipleptic Bicycle" and others. Certainly, many of the verses in Cautionary Tales feel like they could have been written by Gorey: "Jim, Who ran away from his Nurse, and was eaten by a Lion", "Henry King, Who chewed on bits of String, and was early cut off in Dreadful Agonies", "Matilda, Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death", and so on. Unlike the original cartoonish illustrations by Blackwood, Gorey's illustrations simply set the stage - the big moment is then played out in the imagination. It is Edward Gorey's delightful magic, at work.

Glen Emil...

Edward Gorey brings an obscure children's text into the light of modern times with all new illustrations. Sure to teach your child valuable lessons in a most unconventional manner, CTFC contains short stories, in poetry form, of children being eaten by lions, dying of stomach illness, and burning to death (to name a few) because they didn't follow the sound instructions of their parents. In the same vein as The Gashlycrumb Tinies, this one is fun for children and the adult with an unusual sense of humor.

JIM, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion.

It's small wonder that Edward Gorey chose to illustrate Belloc's verses, written nearly a century ago - in fact, they were such a clear and strong influence on his work, it's hard to believe he didn't write them himself. 'Cautionary Tales' is a literary work that was years ahead of its time, parodying the overtly-strict educational children's verses of the time with tales of children whose punishment is wholly disproportioned to their crime. Gorey's illustrations, published only after his death in 2000, complete the ghoulish verses with his trademark naïve and refined black and white crosshatching. Already in his seventies, Gorey has lost none of his charm and style and these illustrations are as nasty and sarcastic as anything he's done, perfectly complimenting the ironic text.

'Cautionary Tales' is the first work of Gorey's published after his death, and it's a perfect conclusion to his illustrious career, and one of his finest works. It's an essential to any fan of this great artist.

This is a brilliant book, of course, which has been utterly destroyed by the Kindle edition. All the lines of verse have been lost and instead the text is wrapped to solid justification, which makes it terrible to read. Formatting is nonexistent; instead of italics, it uses _underscores around phrases_, which is annoying. I strongly recommend avoiding this issue.

One can imagine Edward Gorey mulling over these "Cautionary Tales",subsequently creating succinct Goreyesque illustrations for them. Then years later after presenting his family to us in "The Willowdale Handcar" he undoubtedbly mulled over ideas about families & children and came up with my personal favorite Gorey: The Gashleycrumb Tinies. If you like Gorey & you like the Tinies, you'll enjoy "Cautionary Tales".

4 stars only because I happen to like the devilishly wonderful "Tinies" better.

I was expecting a nice simple edition that included Edward Goreys illustrations as the review of the book stated. Why they would include a review for the hardcover edition with this soft cover version is beyond me, as they are COMPETELY different in quality. this edition looks like someone printed it out (poorly) from an 80s style printer and slapped a cheap plastic cover from walmart on it. it looks NOTHING like the "look inside" example at the top of the page. the justification in the print is screwed up, where once there were pictures is now a label "(illustration)" showing where the picture used to be, and the print itself is incredibly light. it really looks like someone just printed out a poorly edited kindle version. I cant believe they are selling this for 10 bucks when you can get the hardcover for $10.88 right now. it is such poor quality i am actually stunned its being offered on amazon; i think someone is printing this out of their garage. i will try to post pictures of this 10 dollar piece of junk soon. i have never had to return anything to amazon but i guess there is a first time for everything....

Most of the reviews here are for the Edward Gorey version of Cautionary Tales. That's a really fun book, but readers should know that Belloc's little poems are a delight even without the pictures.

Kids absolutely love them and are shocked by their wit. These poems give kids credit for being sharp enough get the joke---and not need absolutely everything sugar coated. When my daughter was six she was told to come to school with a poem to recite. Most of the kids had nursery rhymes or well known American poems. My daughter brought Belloc's The Lion and The Tiger. The teacher, who knew nothing was the poems, got a huge kick out of them, expecially The Tiger with its dry recommendation that "mother's of large families who heed to common sense, will find a tiger well repays the trouble, and expense."

This was one of the loved books of my childhood in the original edition, of course.

I hadn't seen it for a very long time and was anxious to haev a copy for my younger grandchildren. Though old people can enjoy it as well.

Now plesed to have it on my own shelves

I got this to read to my nephews, and it did not disappoint when the time came to pick a story to read. I highly recommend this and the Gashlycrumb Tinies to anyone with children or nephews....

A witty collection of morbid tales with a moral. Perfect for children who need to grow a backbone (or to stop being ornery.)