Product Description

Renowned Mythos aficionado Ken Hite retells H P Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" through this parody of classic children's literature.

After greedily yelling for more fish, young Bobby is sent to his bedroom without any supper at all. But Bobby escapes when the Manuxet River runs right through his room carrying an old boat that takes him to Innsmouth. When the Deep Ones come for him he flees, but will he eventually join their wild rumpus under the ocean, and be crowned the most Deep One of all?

32 pages, illustrated, full color, side-sewn hardcover

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126893 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Customer Reviews

Cute, but not for kids
Kenneth Hite cut his teeth on desiging role playing games and comic books. That explains the tie in; the publisher is Atlas Games, not a noted purveyor of childrens' books. Mr. Hite is actually quite knowledgable about Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos, as a glance at his book Tour de Lovecraft will show.

Where the Deep Ones Are must, of course, be considered in context. It is a parody or send up of Maurice Sendak's revered classic, Where the Wild Things Are. The book's size, page count and artistic style are deliberately similar to Sendak's work. The difference is the little boy, Bobby (not Max), in this book is related to the Marsh family and his journey takes him to Innsmouth. Boy, do I have comments!

First of all, the art by Andy Hopp is beautiful. [...] takes you to his website where you can look at his galleries. I am not clever enough to tell what his medium was for this, inks vs painting, but he manages to give due homage to Sendak and create delightful monsters of his own.

This will be a confusing read for anyone not familiar with the story by HPL, The Shadow Over Innsmouth. To those in the know, the oblique (or not so oblique) references to the Esoteric Order of Dagon and interbreeding of humans and Deep Ones will be obvious. These readers will probably be amused by the story.

As far as I can tell, Atlas Games does not intend this as a children's book, but Amazon has (in my opinion, ill advisedly) created a link so you can buy Where the Wild Things Are and Where the Deep Ones Are as a package deal. Where the Deep Ones Are notes the church has a fish on it. It also refers to the Deep Ones taking away the pretty girls from Innsmouth under the sea for a rumpus. My kids see the covers of my books with Cthulhu on them, and know he is a giant monster, but I don't expect them to even consider exploring HPL until they are in middle school. Sendak's book is a timeless tribute to a child's imagination. Hite has produced a parody that retells a favorite story of HPL, with all the rape and human insignificance peeping around the corners. Coonsidered on its own merits, it is mildly amusing and a clever idea, but the story is a two way rehash rather than original

Who might be interested? Fans of Lovecraftian art of all types should not hesitate. Andy Hopp did great work. Mythos collectors and completists will need a copy, or adults who may want to be amused. At $19.95 it is not for the idly curious. And it is definitely not a book for a young child. I imagine I will think the same about the upcoming parody of At the Mountains of Madness/The Polar Express, The Antarctic Express.

A hard to resist book
The colorful illustrations are delightful for any child and the playful narrative that blends Lovecraft and a beloved children's classic will appeal to any adult who is a fan of either Lovecraft or Sendak.

I bought a copy for my young daughter and am considering buying more as gifts.

Lovecraft for Children
A cute little book which does a fine job taking off of Sendak's
Where the Wild Things Are to present Lovecraft's classic horror tales in a cute, non-frightening way to children.