Product Description

Twenty-three illustrated gothic tales from the dark corridors of the imagination of the creative genius behind Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish. Burton's lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and tragedy of a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children - hopeful, yet hapless beings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2811 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Occupying a similarly sinister and macabre world to the American artist Edward Gorey Tim Burton's work is similarly difficult to place. This is a beautifully produced book filled with fine line drawings--many in colour--illustrating 23 small verse stories which all centre on a surreal deformity--the eponymous Oyster Boy, Stain Boy, The Boy with Nails in his Eyes, Junk Girl, The Pin Cushion Queen...The tales are all quietly disturbing. As with Burton's cinematic work (Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas and Mars Attacks) the book seems aimed at children but the subtexts feel too disquieting. This however is where Burton's genius lies. Children are outcasts in the adult world and their own notion of what is important, grave, frightening and odd is different to ours. We each remember the child inside of us and so are each compelled to recognise the otherness within ourselves: the outcasts that Burton paints are somehow strangely well known to us. As dark and disturbing as the best fairy tales Burton shares a space with the Brothers Grimm--a place that all children know exists when the lights go out and the adults leave the room. --Mark Thwaite

Entertainment Weekly
'Burton's creepy stories conjure up the fantastical, even the slightly demented.'

Synopsis
Twenty-three illustrated gothic tales from the dark corridors of the imagination of the creative genius behind Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish. Burton's lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and tragedy of a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children - hopeful, yet hapless beings.

Customer Reviews

Poor
I was brought up with Belloc, Gorey, Carroll, Lear, Nash et al and this really is pretty second rate stuff. There are a few nice rhymes (I hesitate to call any 'poems') but mainly it's all rather 'rumpty tumpty tumpty tum, dumpty dumpty dumpty dum' with a few 'weird' and 'dark' words thrown in. There is no craft to most of these and certainly the 'story' is lacking in many. A lot of rhymes are no more than 4 lines of about 4 words which is fine if it the words make a clever point or have nice twist and if there are only a few. All a bit too formulaic and the book only got the attention because of who it is written by. This stuff will be forgotten in a week after reading. Curiosity value only - read it in the book store. One star for the production value and one star for the illustrations.

amazing
Never thought a girl with far more then the usual two eyes could be charming?
And that kinkiness could have applicable consequences - not for children, full of antiheroes a collection of bitter sweet poems.
I bursted out laughing and feeling sad at the same time.

woah!
dark,funny poems by tim burton the director of the nightmare before christmas (this is not for little children)