Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18619 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061186479
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

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

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is the author of many highly acclaimed and award-winning books for children and adults, including the New York Times bestseller Coraline. He is also the author of the picture books The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, both illustrated by Dave McKean, Blueberry Girl, illustrated by Charles Vess, and The Dangerous Alphabet, illustrated by Gris Grimly. Among his many awards are the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. Originally from England, Gaiman now lives in the United States.

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Title, Even With Recycled Material
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.

Disappointing.
I was very disappointed when I bought this book. I thought it would be a new collection of short stories by Gaiman, but it turns out it's just a compilation of select stories from FRAGILE THINGS and SMOKE AND MIRRORS.

Waste of money.

magic time

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