M Is for Magic [Paperback]

Neil Gaiman (Author), Teddy Kristiansen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a breathtaking collection of tales for younger readers that may chill or amuse, but that always embrace the unexpected:

• Humpty Dumpty's sister hires a private detective to investigate her brother's death.
• A teenage boy who has trouble talking to girls finds himself at a rather unusual party.
• A boy raised in a graveyard makes a discovery, and confronts the much more troubling world of the living.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Taking both inspiration and naming convention from Ray Bradbury's R Is for Rocket and S Is for Space, Gaiman's first YA anthology is a fine collection of previously published short stories. Although Gaiman's prose skill has improved markedly since the earliest stories included here, one constant is his stellar imagination, not to mention his knack for finding unexpected room for exploration in conventional story motifs. Jill Dumpty, sister of the late Humpty, hires a hard-boiled detective to look into her brother's tragic fall; the 12 months of the year sit around in a circle, telling each other stories about the things they've seen; an elderly woman finds the Holy Grail in a flea market and takes it home because of how nice it will look on her mantelpiece. Collectors will be pleased to note the inclusion of several stories that were previously published in the now-hard-to-find collection Angels & Visitations. Also of note is fan favorite How to Talk to Girls at Parties, which has been nominated for a Hugo Award for 2007. Though Gaiman is still best known for his groundbreaking Sandman comic book epic, this volume is an excellent reminder of his considerable talent for short-form prose. Ages 10-up. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A modern master of fantasy has selected nine of his short stories and a poem and added a segment from an upcoming children's title for this volume, appropriately titled in homage to a past master, Ray Bradbury. Leading off with a classic detective story involving nursery rhyme characters, Gaiman continues down familiar but twisted paths. There's a scary jack-in-the-box and a troll under a bridge. A rogue describes a perfect scam. A black cat fends off the devil; the eaters of a phoenix discover that it burns. There are stories about talking with girls, with ghosts, with knights in armor, and with aliens. Finally, Gaiman concludes with instructions for proper behavior in fairy-tale land. Although all but "The Witch's Headstone" have appeared elsewhere, this well-chosen collection is sure to create a new generation of Gaiman fans who will not need to understand all the allusions to enjoy the stories. Danish comic-book artist Kristiansen, no stranger to Gaiman material, will be providing the illustrations. Kathleen Isaacs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061186473
• ISBN-13: 978-0061186479
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Short Story Collections

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magic time, September 22, 2007

By 

Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (College Park, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Audio CD)

Neil Gaiman, the author of the novel Stardust (which was made into a great film with Robert De Niro and Claire Danes) and the Sandman stories /graphic novels from DC Comics, is a natural storyteller. He is also a noted children author with a special talent to talk to children and adults with the sense of wonder of a child. He also has a children's audio collection of his picture books.

Now to this current audio collection, these are sort of stories you would hear when you were ten and around a summer campfire. The narrative talent of Gaiman draws the listener in and keeps you in. You don't care if these tales are for children, young adults or adults, he makes all these PG type stories great.

What makes this collection great is good storytelling. Like Ray Bradbury's S is for Space, which he notes in his audio forward, Gaiman uses simple ideas and meshes them into mini horror or thriller tales . . . and keeps you interested!

It is worth your time to get this collection for your family. When you do, get one for the adults and one for the kids

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Title, Even With Recycled Material, August 8, 2007

By 

Kenneth Holm (Kenosha, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Hardcover)

What a lot of people seem to miss when complaining about this book is that it was assembled for younger readers. This book was made in the style of Ray Bradbury's R Is For Rocket. It's primary function is to introduce younger readers to Gaiman's work. All the stories here I would feel comfortable with my children reading, while most of the titles from Fragile Things, I might hesitate. This book does contain some repeat stories, some hard-to-find material, and some new stories, as well. Read this book to get a sneak peek at Neil's new book, The Graveyard Book. All in all, a wonderful book, and I'm thankful for it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 20, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Hardcover)

M IS FOR MAGIC is a collection of eleven short stories. This book was geared for elementary/middle school but I thought that I couldn't read many of the stories aloud in my classroom because some of the themes are pretty adult.

I liked many of the stories, especially THE WITCH'S HEADSTONE. This was a story about a real boy who was living in a graveyard and being raised by ghosts. He decides to do a very kind thing for a ghost who didn't get a gravestone and the story follows the adventure that goes with that decision.

I also enjoyed THE CASE OF FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS. It was a detective story set with nursery rhyme characters. The detective needs to solve the mystery of who killed Humpty Dumpty. It is told with attitude and is very funny.

There are also stories that are scary or just plain creepy. The story about the jack-in-the-box just gave me chills. So if you want to read some good, strange stories that only take about an hour to read, check this book out.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison