Customer Reviews

Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2)

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

 

 

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.

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!

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!

Given the names associated with this book, I really expected it to be great. And, the artwork is wonderful. However, the writing is really lacking. The stories seem hastily put together and lack that mystery of Where the Wild Things Are and other childrens books that captivate both with art and writing. Honestly, my four-year old doesn't complain. He really likes the art work, and it's a book that he often looks at by himself -- though he can't read. Any book that he'll look at by himself is a good book. However, it's not a book that I ever want to read to him. I'll read it if he asks, but I don't find myself enjoying it as I do some of my son's other books. Sometimes I will purposely choose Where the Wild Things Are and ask him if he wants it read to him. I never do this with this book.

Just the graphic art book I was looking for to entertain my daughter. She has enjoyed all three in the series so far.

I really wanted to like this entry into the series. However, as fond as I was of the first one based on folk & fairy tales. (see my review) I confess I was somewhat disappointed by this one, it lacked some of the sparkle and good humor that the first Little Lit book has. The art is still creative & cutting edge, but the story lines were weak and not very engaging. As a Kim Deitch fan, I was delighted to see his surreal paean to felines. Buy it, if you want to collect the series. But start with #1. Be that as it may- I can't wait for #3 to appear!