Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night... (Little Lit)

asked by 90210 on October 31, 2006 2:22 AM

Maus creator Art Spiegelman and art editor of The New Yorker Françoise Mouly created a gorgeous splash with their deliciously oversized comic art collections Little Lit and Strange Stories for Strange Kids. In their latest compilation It Was a Dark and Silly Night... fans will find darkly delightful comics by Lemony Snicket and Richard Sala, William Joyce, Neil Gaiman and Gahan Wilson, J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh, Carlos Nine, Kaz, and more. The editors asked this talented crew of cartoonists, novelists, and children's book illustrators and authors to begin a story "It was a dark and silly night." Lemony Snicket took "silly" to stand for "Somewhat Intelligent, Largely Laconic Yeti." William Joyce tells the story of "Art Aimesworth, boy crimefighter and all around whiz-kid" who attempts to isolate Giggle-illium, the long-searched-for silly atom. Neil Gaiman begins his dark and silly night with "a light and grumpy afternoon." Kaz spins the tale of a bizarre upside-down family that only rights itself when a gas explosion blows the house up, in both senses. As with the other Little Lit collections, readers will be amazed, amused, baffled, turned upside-down and righted again, all in the course of a happy afternoon of browsing. (All ages over 9 or so) --Karin Snelson

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Reviews

This is a great book. I especially like the graphics on the inside cover, they are very funny and greatly illustrated. the stories are funny too. My favorite stories are "Jumpin Jupiter" by Basil Wolveton and the one by Neil Gaiman and Gahan Wilson. I like the general idea of the book -- that all the stories start with the same line and each author/illustrator creates a completely different story.

reviewed by corral on November 20, 2006 5:51 PM

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

reviewed by mike on November 22, 2006 3:19 AM

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I have reached a point, as a reader, where I will devour virtually anything by Neil Gaiman, and when I heard he was part of this anthology of "silly" tales, I had to pick it up. It was a nice added bonus to find a comic book story by Lemony Snicket and a classic by Basil Wolverton among the offerings in this volume.

Most of the other entries, I'm afraid, I found just to be okay. One or two were even a tad boring -- but keep in mind, this is from the perspective of an adult reader. I have a great appreciation for children's stories, but I tend towards the ones that are layered in such a fashion that adults can appreciate them as well. Most of the stories in this book aren't. Kids will probably love it, though.

The puzzles are fun and a nice inclusion, and the front and back art pieces by the creator of "Where's Waldo" were a riot. If you're a big-time Gaiman fan like me and just have to get anything he does, you can probably justify getting this book. If you've got kids, you don't need to justify it -- it's well worth it.

reviewed by macfan on November 23, 2006 3:12 PM

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While the first two Little Lit books appealed equally to adults and children, it would appear that this third book will appeal more strongly to children. Maybe the editors felt guilty about starting battles between parents and children over who got to read their books first. It isn't that the stories are any less intelligent. And most of the artwork continues to be quite stunning (although William Joyce's contribution is my least favourite, he does an excellent job of imitating the art of Winsor McCay). The problem appears to be with the book's theme: silliness.

All of the stories (except for the fun Basil Wolverton reprint) are entitled "It Was a Dark and Silly Night", and are quite nonsensical. Maybe adults are too serious to appreciate silliness unless it is hip or postmodern. Kids, however, never seem to grow tired of silly stories, perhaps because they are good at engaging the imagination. But regardless of the reasons why this book is less enjoyable for adults, you could do far worse than giving young children a copy.

Desipte the fact that this book will appeal more to younger readers, I still enjoyed some of the stories. The entry by Lemony Snicket and Richard Sala begins with awkward narration, but its humourous take on the yeti legend is interesting and has a great, bizarre punchline. The story by Neil Gaiman and Gahan Wilson is slight, but it should be able to cheer up anyone (I've always had a soft spot for silly monsters). And Patrick McDonnell, whose contribution's silliness is matched by its lyrical beauty, demonstrates why he is currently the only person producing a consistently good comic strip for newspapers (Mutts).

However, my personal favourite is the story by Kaz. With its extremely surreal imagery and humour, this one reminded me of some of the more outrageous, anarchistic Looney Tunes cartoons of which I was especially fond, such the one that takes place in the land of the Dodo bird. Except for its length, and the fact that it is kid-friendly, this contribution would not be out of place amongst Kaz' Underworld cartoons.

The only story I wish was left out is the one by Joost Swarte, but I've never liked his work.

I doubt any adult will enjoy everything in this volume (these books are for children at any rate), but I still highly recommend this book to anyone who has kids and to those adults who like to remember what it was like being a kid.

reviewed by janmueller on November 26, 2006 8:31 AM

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