Amazon.com: Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies: Art Spiegelman, Francoise Mouly: Books

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These days, most comics really aren't for kids. But Little Lit fixes that with funny and fractured all-ages fairy tales by some of the best comic artists around. Annoying magic pumpkins, a horrible ogre queen, and strangely hungry horses are just some of the strange characters guaranteed to delight both children and adults.

Twelve great tales, some new and some retold classics, with weird and wacky pictures fill the pages of Little Lit. Comic fans will recognize the talents of Dan Clowes, Kaz, Joost Swarte, and many more. Kids will love the unexpected twists on old favorites, like the lions who populate Barbara McClintock's "The Princess and the Pea." Like all good fairy tales, many of these stories have lessons hidden in them. Maus creator Art Spiegelman tells the story of a young prince who finds out he doesn't have to change the thing he likes best about himself in "Prince Rooster." And Harry Bliss's "The Baker's Daughter" finds out the hard way that she shouldn't be stingy.

Walt Kelly's 1943 "The Gingerbread Man" gives today's kids a taste of the comic books of yesteryear. There are even activities, like Charles Burns's "Spookyland" and Bruce McCall's silly "What's Wrong with this Picture?" But the very best part of the whole wonderful package is the hilarious game included on the endpapers. It's called "Fairy Tale Road Rage," and it's beautifully illustrated with the exquisite, nostalgic art of Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan). Players race to complete a silly story. Bedtime was never better! (All ages) --Therese Littleton

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 6-This is a cool book: cool in the sense that it is presented by 18 renowned cartoonists; cool in the McLuhan sense of comics as a medium that commands audience involvement through iconic forms; and cool in the sense of a marriage of form and content that is brilliant in concept. Cartoonists include Spiegelman, Walt Kelly, David Macaulay, William Joyce, and Kaz. Each uses a unique style of sequential art to interpret a fairy tale, either an original story using traditional motifs (Spiegelman's "Prince Rooster") or a familiar tale. Macaulay offers a version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and there is a fractured tale (Joyce's "Humpty [Dumpty] Trouble"). Some of the retellings like Daniel Clowes's sequel to "Sleeping Beauty" are told in formal language, others like Barbara McClintock's "The Princess and the Pea" are tongue-in-cheek. Comics and folktales have much in common. Both depend on our understanding of universal symbols and icons (think of the "smiley face") that are stripped down to amplify their meaning. Both are interactive forms that depend on the audience to fill in the details with their own imaginations. Chris Ware's "Fairy Tale Road Rage" game on the endpapers will acquaint children with the motifs and patterns of traditional tales. Librarians will hate it because processing will conceal part of the game and the punch-out game pieces will disappear. Nonetheless, the book will still circulate. This is a sensational introduction to traditional literature for a visually sophisticated generation. It will live happily ever after in the hands of readers everywhere.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies (Hardcover)

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