Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2) [Hardcover]

Art Spiegelman (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Little Lit

The second groundbreaking anthology from the New York Times best-selling team of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly is here! The everyday world is turned upside down and the ordinary becomes extraordinary in this collection of the strangest tales. From Art Spiegelman's The Several Lives of Selby Sheldrake to Maurice Sendak's Cereal Baby Keller to Jules Feiffer's Trapped in a Comic Book, these stories are sure to entice any young reader. Also included are comics and features by Ian Falconer and David Sedaris, Paul Auster and Jacques de Loustal, Crockett Johnson, Richard McGuire, and Barbara McClintock, a puzzle by Lewis Trondheim, and make-your-own comic-book endpapers from Kaz. Little Lit Strange Stories for Strange Kids continues the tradition of bringing the pleasure of books and reading into the hands and minds of kids.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Editors Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly have packed so much top-notch talent into this flabbergastingly funny all-ages comic collection that you'll have a terrible time deciding what to read first. Just as with the previous Little Lit book, Folklore & Fairy Tale Funnies, you'll find some of the most hilarious, intelligent, and diverse short comics around inside these pages: Maurice Sendak's omnivorous infant gobbles up everything in sight in "Cereal Baby Keller"; David Sedaris pairs up with Ian Falconer to define true cuteness; "Where's Waldo?" creator Martin Handford searches for old socks; Paul Auster (yes, that Paul Auster) and Jacques de Loustal's offering follows a man who's found he's disappeared; Crockett Johnson (Harold and the Purple Crayon) brings back the beginning of his classic '40s strip, "Barnaby" (a favorite of Duke Ellington and Dorothy Parker, among others); and Spiegelman himself takes on "The Several Selves of Selby Sheldrake." And that's not even the half of it. This downright quirky collection will charm comic fans of all ages--and, no doubt, make fans out of those who weren't already. Even the endpapers are funny, thanks to Kaz of "Underworld." (All ages after 9 or so) --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly

Once upon a time, picture books got parental approval and pulp comics were a sneaky pleasure. In this sequel to Little Lit, Spiegelman and Mouly create a hybrid of the two that may well appeal to oddballs of all ages. Charles Burns leads the charge with his high-impact cover image of an alien reading a boy's space comics. The alien has kewpie-doll eyes and a puppyish nose, but its sinewy muscles and lurid green skin pack a perverse threat. In the endpapers, which suggest a pulp-mag correspondence course, Underworld author Kaz offers "Strange Cartoon Lessons" cards ("Bad at drawing legs? Put your character behind a desk"). After these engaging diversions, the treasury trots out stories from the funny-ha-ha to the funny-strange, many dealing with secret identities. Spiegelman invents a boy whose moods materialize as clones; Jules Feiffer's anxiety-prone child gets "Trapped in a Comic Book"; and Jacques de Loustal and Paul Auster collaborate on a melancholy Kafka-esque noir tale. As the title promises, some of the material is disturbing. Maurice Sendak's punny "Cereal Baby Keller" reprises his violent sketch of a ravenous baby that eats its parents; Ian Falconer and David Sedaris team for a gruesome story of a monster that flips inside-out because "Real beauty is on the inside." More benign picks include an exhausting maze game by Lewis Trondheim, and Barbara McClintock's buoyant story of a shadow that breaks loose. A lengthy reprint of Crockett Johnson's Barnaby strip seems misplaced here, but its airy layout and square panels are a strong counterpoint to the condensed, offbeat material. This compendium, with its stellar group of comix and picture-book literati, revels in its dark side and suggests that "strange kids" are the mainstream. All ages.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Joanna Cotler; First Edition edition (September 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060286261
• ISBN-13: 978-0060286262
• Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 9.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully drawn and written., October 20, 2001

By 

Maggie the Lizard Tamer (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The second volume of Little Lit is definitely not a dissapointment - if anything, with is intricate stories and exquisite finish, it is better than its precedessor. Little Lit 2 offers stories by famous artists such as Art Spiegelman, Barbara McClintock, and many others. The stories are original in their plot as well as art form - from monochrome panels to crowded almost iridescent splash pages and complete with mind games, Little Lit 2 is a compelation of stories for young kids as well as their immature at heart parents.

It is a great book to give as a gift due to its exceptional size. Also, it may prove excellent to read your children before bedtime. And since it's a book that can be re-read multiple times (there's always something new to discover in it), you can give to your kids and they'll play for hours.

I highly recommend it for hardcore comic book fans as well as those who like original stories.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect book for the slightly skewed no matter their age!, February 28, 2002

By 

Timothy Capehart "Review-a-holic" (Dayton, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Is there a child in your life who might answer the question "What did you do today?" by saying "Resisted entropy." ?

Are you a fan of "Raw" and would you like your nieces and nephews to grow up like you (to spite your siblings)?

Even if you're just looking for a good thought-provoking read, this is a great book to buy...it'll even decorate your coffee table nicely. Ian Falconer (Caldecott Honor author/illustartor of "Olivia") teams with essayist David Sedaris (that alone should make you hop up to go investigate!) Barbara McClintock, Maurice Sendak, Jules Feiffer--what, you still haven't hit the "add to shopping cart" button? They all have their pages or stories in this wonderful collection.

This is what children's books should be! A brother and sister defeat evil Jack Frost with a hair drier, a young boy gets trapped in a comic book (can you imagine how boring the fights would get after a while?) games...maze-stories in which YOU decide the ending...

Excellent no matter your age. And the end papers will teach you to draw comics! Happy Reading!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More eclectic....high profile creators!, July 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The stories in Volume One of this series were based on fairy tales. Volume Two is far more eclectic, with a wide variety of styles and some pretty high profile creators.

Kaz teaches you some "Strange Cartoon Lessons" on the endpapers, Maurice (Where The Wild Things Are) Sendak offers "Cereal Baby Keller," Jules Fieffer gets you "Trapped In A Comic Book" and Crockett (Harold and the Purple Crayon) Johnson tells the tales of "Barnaby." My favorite story by far is "Pretty Ugly" by Ian Falconer and David Sedaris.

I'm not quite sure that Volume Two lives up to the standard created by Volume One. That's not to say it's not a great book, but it seems a lot less focused (not necessarily a bad thing though...). But, like Volume One, it's fun-fun-fun for all ages!

Highly recommended!