Customer Reviews

Instructions

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book contains a set of instructions for wanderers into the realms of Faerie. Those instructions come in the form of an evocative poem, written by Neil Gaiman, and illustrated by the illusively charming drawings of Charles Vess (who has some experience depicting those lands beyond the fields we know, having also illustrated Gaiman's _Stardust_ and Susanna Clarke's _The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories_, among many other works).

This will be classified as a "children's book," and it is, but it's also an adult's book and a reader's book; something that I expect will charm anyone who's ever read a fairy tale.


"Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat

nothing.

However, if any creature tells you that it hungers,

feed it.

If it tells you that it is dirty,

clean it.

If it cries to you that it hurts,

if you can,

ease its pain."

First things first: this is a poem, not a children's bedtime story as the cover art might suggest. I just wanted everyone to know that before they buy. That said, it is an absolutely charming poem about how to survive in a fairy tale and is fabulously well-done by Neil Gaiman. Fans of his work (the latest award-winner being his novel The Graveyard Book) will instantly recognize his invention on these pages. It's really quite charming and the illustrations are wonderful. If you're looking at this for your kids, it's appropriate for those who are old enough to understand the concept of entering a fairy tale, at least in my opinion....my four year old certainly understands it (and enjoys it!).

If you're a Gaiman fan like myself, this is a must-have for your collection.

Don't deny it. Everybody has had fantasies of wandering into another world, or at least a magically-enhanced pocket of our own -- and Neil Gaiman is an expert on both. His "Instructions" is a delicately illustrated, whimsical little picture book that takes you on a guided tour of a fantasy world, and Charles Vess' delicate, elegant illustrations mesh perfectly with Gaiman's words.

"Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before. Say please before you open the latch, go through, and walk down the path." Gaiman follows a cat-man in vaguely medieval clothes as he follows the various instructions. Obviously he starts off going through a mysterious door in a stone wall, which leads him into a world of ogres, palaces, wild woods, magic wells, princesses and red dragons.

Moreover, he gives you tips on the proper places to go and what you should do when you get there. For instance, he informs you what giant animals you are going to ride, what you shouldn't do (example: touch an imp doorknocker), and precisely what to say to whomever you meet.

Technically "Instructions" is a children's picture book, but it feels more like a whimsical poem with equally charming illustrations. Gaiman manages to make you feel like you wandered into a slightly tongue-in-cheek fairy tale and are just an observer rather than a full participant. It's a little like he's taking you by the hand and showing you the most interesting sights of the Fairy Tale World -- including some of the darker edges, like a haunted wood full of imps, or the incarnations of the year's months.

And Charles Vess' illustrations really give the book a magical air -- lots of gnarled trees, crows, clinging flowering vines, floating mists, green tinged forests and golden skies. His art tends to be rather delicate and full of dusty, vibrant colors -- and it often gives you the feeling that it's about to spill off the page.

"Instructions" is a pretty mundane name for a charming little picture book, with a lovely concept and even lovelier drawings. Lovely for the imaginative kid, and maybe a few adults as well.

Well written with lovely illustrations. The illustrations by Charles Vess are full of hidden details, so linger over and savor them. I say this as you can likely read this book in a few minutes, there's not that much in the way of words. What few there are are well crafted.

Good for read-aloud, or a gift for a child you really like, or for any Gaiman fan.

Instructions is a lovely book. :) It's quite a bit smaller -- not in terms of page count, but physically -- than I expected, but it's plenty large enough to showcase the art. It's illustrated by the same man who did Blueberry Girl, but I'm not sure I would have guessed that if I didn't already know it... the style in this one is quite different, in my opinion. It's generally not as whimsical as Blueberry Girl, although it's still on fairy tale themes. Come to think of it, though, that's true of Neil Gaiman's text in each, as well, so I guess it's appropriate. :) I read it to my 5-year-old daughter, and she seemed to enjoy it. I tried to specifically slow down in my reading, and used a lot of Gaiman's intonations (from the youtube video I watched), just like with Blueberry Girl. I think the themes in this one are still a bit over her head, but she'll grow into it. :D

I think this is truly a special book for kids, but probably even more so for adults. Here's hoping it becomes a graduation classic, a la "Oh, The Places You'll Go!"

I have yet to be disappointed by Neil Gaiman! His word usage and style are so amazing; just look at how many awards he has won. This is another wonderfully unique book to be loved by people of all ages. Also the illustrations by Charles Vess are beautiful!

As one might expect from Neil Gaiman, "Instructions" is an unusual little book, and despite technically being a picture book, isn't necessarily something you would give to a child. Not that the content isn't objectionable - just a tad incomprehensible to anyone who isn't well versed in the rules and patterns of fairytales. With that in mind, a child *is* an appropriate audience; I think what I'm trying to say is that "Instructions" is a story for those who love stories, and the more familiar you are with the tales upon which is this is based, the better you will enjoy it.

First published in A Wolf at the Door, an anthology of retold fairytales, "Instructions" centers on a Puss-in-Boots figure who traverses a fairytale world, replete with familiar character and species, guided by the words of the narrator whose wisdom comes from almost every fairytale ever told. Puss opens the wooden gate in the wall and passes through woods and castles, visiting foxes, wolves, giants, devils and witches, joined by a young cat that he helps along the way, whilst the accompanying text gives us such anecdotes as "do not be jealous of your sister," "remember your name" and "do not look back." It all rings a distant bell in the mind of the reader as they recall those ancient tenants of folklore and fairytale that have been around for time immemorial.

Charles Vess provides the illustrations (you may recall his style from Susana Clarke's The Ladies of Grace Adieu), creating a visually simplistic but vivid world of the fairytale, in which imps crawl in the branches of treetops, princesses call from tower windows and glass slippers lie abandoned by the roadside. I think my favorite picture is the one where Puss passes over a log-bridge that spans a crevasse, his arms stretched out for balance, completely unaware that a troll lurks beneath his feet. The illustrations are detailed yet uncluttered; it is almost as if a talented child has painted them.

Altogether "Instructions" is a difficult book to pin down. It's simple yet thought-provoking, short yet engrossing. Reading much like a poem, with its own tempo and rhythm, this is a picture book that demands more than one read. The only problem, I felt, was the title. It should have been called "Advice".

This is a fairy tale that references traditional aspects of other fairy tales. You will recognize elements from classic fairy tales as you read this. The artwork really adds to the story. It's fun to look for all the little creatures that are hidden in and around the pictures.

In one way this book is "merely" a summation of all the tropes of fairy tales. Yet by the end of the book I was genuinely moved in a way that a fairy tale doesn't anymore. Part of this is Gaiman's sense of pace, and the masterly way he crafts his sentences - short doesn't have to mean choppy or abrupt. And part of it is the sense that it's not the odd fox-cat creature in the illustrations who's being given these instructions, it us. It's me. It's the child who believes that someday there will be a door in the wall never noticed before. This book isn't easy to summarize, but the review is simple: Buy it. Read it. It's magic.

While not a very large tome, nor wordy, this offering from author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Charles Vess offers a perfect jumping off point for the introduction of young children to the wonder and magic of fairy tales. Word-wise, it is a very simple, one sentence per page, tale. The illustrations accompanying the story include pictures of many well-known fairy tale characters. As the child grows into the book, learning to read the story, these pictures offer the inquisitive a path toward further exploration of the world of the fairy tale. For example, as you come across the character of Little Red Riding Hood, you can then relate that story to the child ... and so forth and so on. It is rich with images and the simple story line challenges the child to proceed further in both hunting down these other tales as well as continued reading. I truly believe that this is one the greatest gifts I could have given my young grandson.

Instructions