The Devil's Other Storybook [Paperback]

Natalie Babbitt (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1987 | Age Level: 8 and up

The Devil is back, just as full of vanity and other human feelings as he was in Natalie Babbitt's first collection, The Devil's Storybook.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Babbitt's incorrigible Devil has no trouble leading humans down the primrose path to perdition in this wise, elegantly told, darkly humorous collection, a sequel to The Devil's Storybook . Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Begging to be quoted, to be read aloud, to be told, these wise tales should delight readers and listeners alike." --Pointer, Kirkus Reviews

"Depicted more as a scamp or scalawag, the Devil is a source of mischief and provides more opportunities to laugh than to weep. . .Told in a pleasing, conversational style, the stories have an originality and a humor that will appeal to all ages." --Starred, The Horn Book

"Babbitt's style is as clean and elegant as ever. A choice morsel to be savored with tongue in cheek." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This book is a pleasure to look at, to hold, and to read." --Starred, School Library Journal

"Rejoice! Here are ten more stories about the Devil to add to Babbitt's wonderful first collection." --Pointer, Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (June 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374417040
• ISBN-13: 978-0374417048
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,018,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Follow-up to _The Devil's Storybook_, June 7, 2003

By 

Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Other Storybook (Paperback)

...and like its predecessor, the author illustrated the front cover with the Devil sitting in a chair reading the book - except that on the floor beside him, this picture shows a copy of volume 1, as well as the copy of volume 2 open on his lap. :) He's still drawn in standard Mephistopheles mode, goatee, horns, tail, and all.

Both books are very short, and each story has a kind of moral, but Babbitt has a light touch. Every story has 1 illustration, usually for a scene in which the Devil is trying to stir up trouble in the world, tempting people to make wrong decisions - and quite often having his plans go wrong.

"The Fortunes of Madame Organza" The title has a nice double meaning: Madame Organza was a fortuneteller who wasn't very good at her work, since she could never invent any stories but the same 3: meeting a tall dark stranger, going on a long journey, and finding a pot of gold. She couldn't make a living at it, and took in washing on the side under her real name of Bessie. Then by coincidence, a milkmaid who'd just started working in the neighbourhood and didn't know any better happened 1) to spend some of her first paycheck at the fortuneteller's, 2) to get the 'pot of gold' fortune, and 3) to find some robbers' loot. The Devil, hearing about this, decided to have a little fun by making *all* Madame Organza's fortunes come true for awhile.

"Justice" One of the few times the Devil's been surprised was when a rhinoceros with a bullet-hole through one horn suddenly appeared in Hell, looking impatient. Later that same day, a hunter called Bangs backed into a boa constrictor and showed up at the Devil's front gate, to be promptly told to catch the rhino. But he's not too happy at finding out that since guns don't work down here, he's going to have to catch it with a net - and he suspects he's probably the one who made the bullet-hole.

"The Soldier" is between wars, and on meeting the Devil in disguise, happens to start boasting of all the battles and wars he's seen.

"Boating" starts off by pointing out that Hell has four nice rivers inside the walls, with the 5th, the Styx, running around the outside like a moat. On the day the story opens, Charon the ferryman has asked for help since an awful crowd of people suddenly showed up, so the Devil decides to pass a little time running a second ferry.

"How Akbar Went to Bethlehem" Why the Devil no longer tries to keep camels, although he likes nasty-tempered pets as a rule, and used to have one named Akbar.

"The Signpost" A pair of mismatched sweethearts, who really aren't well-suited, will only marry each other if one will go to the other within a week and agree not to quarrel anymore. Then the Devil thought it might be funny to mix up the signpost at the crossroads between Woolfield and Argo so that the arrows pointed the wrong way, not knowing anything about the quarrel.

"Lessons" Columbine, unlike parrots who grew up among pirates, learned a very different kind of language living in a parsonage, and it stands him in good stead when he sees the Devil walk by.

"The Fall and Rise of Bathbone" [My favorite out of both books.] One of the few stories in which Heaven appears. Bathbone isn't quite right in the head; for some reason, he thinks he's a famous opera singer named Doremi Faso, although they aren't a bit alike. (Try saying Faso's name aloud, and think 'musical scale'.) Bathbone's little and sweet, while Faso is 'quite the opposite, with the shape and weight of a walrus and the ego of several roosters.' After Faso drops dead trying to hit a high note, Bathbone (confused at the reports of Faso's death) dies in an accident. Heaven prefers people to be content with who they really are, so Bathbone is sent to meet the real Faso and get himself sorted out. The trouble is, Faso's reputation was bigger than his talent, so Bathbone refuses to believe that the terrible singer performing in an empty concert hall is the real Faso. :)

"Simple Sentences" The Devil isn't too pleased to be waked up from a nap by two new arrivals quarreling with each other and a minor demon over their entry forms. (*Of course* the place has forms to fill out.) One, a pickpocket, speaks a very thick cockney dialect, the other's very stuffy and stuck-up, and they don't agree about how they happened to die - the pickpocket says he wouldn't sink so low as to rob this guy. Worse, neither of them will talk straight.

"The Ear" The Devil doesn't get much play in this one - while he enjoyed watching the Pishpash, a clan who used to sacrifice a lot of turnips to their idol, nobody really missed them when they abandoned the idol after an earthquake tipped it over. But after many centuries, a half-grown kid named Beevis - whose parents never listen to him - happened to try to dig a well right over the idol's buried ear.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Devil's up to no good again., March 27, 2000

By 

Sharon Fabrega (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Other Storybook (Paperback)

Just like The Devil's Storybook, The Devil's Other Storybook is full of funny stories about how the Devil's evil plans are always being spoiled. These stories are cute, fun, and entertaining, with the underlying moral that the Devil just can't win. I read The Devil's Storybook in elementary school, and had to purchase both books in college. Both are delightful reads!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Fun, December 4, 2008

By 

Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Other Storybook (Paperback)

I first read Tuck Everlasting in a children's literature course back in 1999. I enjoyed it so much I tracked down a few other books by Babbitt and enjoyed them just as much.

This is a collection of short stories about the Devil. They read as moral lessons, much like Grimm's fairy tales. Each has a different point and purpose. It was a fun interesting book to read. I was never able to find a volume 1, The Devil's Storybook.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)