Genres
Description
Eleven stories that involve strange and fantastical events.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007-06-27
2007
Physical description
xii, 260 p.; 20 cm
Publication
New York : HarperTrophy, 2008.
Pages
xii; 260
ISBN
9780061186479
Local notes
Contains an introduction by Gaiman specifically for this collection, and a selection of short stories, most of which appear in other books in our library, but here illustrated by Teddy Kristiansen:
* The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds (detective noir parody in a world of nursery rhymes)
* Troll Bridge (coming of age fantasy horror)
* Don't Ask Jack (fantasy horror about a Jack in a Box toy)
* How to Sell the Ponti Bridge (nesting narrative fantasy crime thriller about a pandimensional club for con artists)
* October in the Chair (nesting narrative fantasy where personifications of the calendar months tell each other stories)+
* Chivalry (fantasy comedy of an old woman buying the Holy Graill on a whim)
* The Price (pseudo-autobiographical fantasy horror of a mysterious black cat protecting the household from the devil)
* How to Talk to Girls at Parties (science fiction drama of two boys attending an all-girl party that is not what it seems to be)++
* Sunbird (fantasy horror comedy of an Epicurean club wishing to dine on a phoenix)+++
* The Witch's Headstone (adventure horror about a boy raised by ghosts venturing briefly into the mundane world. The story is a chapter from "The Graveyard Book" novel)++++
* Instructions (fantasy poem)
+ Winner of the 2003 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
++ Winner of the 2007 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
+++ Winner of the 2006 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
++++ Winner of the 2008 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
* The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds (detective noir parody in a world of nursery rhymes)
* Troll Bridge (coming of age fantasy horror)
* Don't Ask Jack (fantasy horror about a Jack in a Box toy)
* How to Sell the Ponti Bridge (nesting narrative fantasy crime thriller about a pandimensional club for con artists)
* October in the Chair (nesting narrative fantasy where personifications of the calendar months tell each other stories)+
* Chivalry (fantasy comedy of an old woman buying the Holy Graill on a whim)
* The Price (pseudo-autobiographical fantasy horror of a mysterious black cat protecting the household from the devil)
* How to Talk to Girls at Parties (science fiction drama of two boys attending an all-girl party that is not what it seems to be)++
* Sunbird (fantasy horror comedy of an Epicurean club wishing to dine on a phoenix)+++
* The Witch's Headstone (adventure horror about a boy raised by ghosts venturing briefly into the mundane world. The story is a chapter from "The Graveyard Book" novel)++++
* Instructions (fantasy poem)
+ Winner of the 2003 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
++ Winner of the 2007 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
+++ Winner of the 2006 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
++++ Winner of the 2008 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
Library's review
A mixed bag collection of short stories, most of which I'd read before.
"The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds", a noir parody in a world populated by nursery rhyme characters, is a cute concept, but I'm not sufficiently familiar with British nursery rhymes to get the most of out of it. I
"Troll Bridge" is a dark modern day fairy tale of a boy meeting a troll under a bridge, and then repeatedly as he grows older. It's perhaps not quite my cup of tea, verging too far into horror territory for my tastes, but I do find the writing engrossing here.
"Don't Ask Jack", a tale about a Jack-in-the-box which might or might not be haunted, has a similar mood to "Troll Bridge", but I like it a tad more, perhaps because it is shorter and simpler and I feel like I'm wasting less time getting to the point.
"How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" is, if you have a moment, a nesting narrative fantasy crime comedy thriller about a pandimensional club for con artists. It's quite good, I find, until the very end, where the end twist is not much of a twist at all, even though all the characters behave as though it's beyond brilliant. That punctures it a bit for me, but I see this is by far the oldest of the stories in the collection, and having been written much earlier in Gaiman's career, I can partially forgive it the underwhelming ending. If the end twist had been more satisfying, this would easily have been a favourite of mine, as it is otherwise very much up my alley of preferences.
"October in the Chair" is another nesting narrative. In this one personifications of the calendar months tell each other stories. I've read this one before and always feel a bit unsure if I'm missing some kind of essential point -- a couple of very short stories in the beginning aside, there's really just one proper, long tragic story told during the proceedings, and I'm unclear on why that wouldn't have worked just as well on its own, and what the framing device adds to it. While that story is fine (a bit too slow and ponderous for my tastes), the framing narrative is far more memorable, and I kind of feel like the whole of it ends up a bit lesser than the sum of its parts somehow.
"Chivalry" is a fantasy comedy of an old woman buying the Holy Graill on a whim. It's a bit of a delight, and, if you can stomach some low key zaniness, one of the collection's high points by my tastes.
"The Price" is a pseudo-autobiographical (Gaiman seems to have made himself the protagonist) fantasy horror of a black cat that shows up at his house and keeps getting hurt badly during mysterious fights at night. It feels a bit self-indulgant in the set-up, spending a lot of time describing the other cats of the house (though most of them never appear again in the story), but I find it otherwise to be the most memorable and gripping tale included.
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is a science fiction mystery drama of two boys attending an all-girl party that is not what it seems to be. Honestly, I didn't get much out of this in its comic book version a few years ago, and I think I now might have gotten even less out of this short story that it was adapted from. The premise is potentially quite fun, but there isn't much of a narrative springing from it.
"Sunbird" is another highlight, a fantasy horror comedy of an Epicurean club wishing to dine on a phoenix, and the story here I've read the most times previously. There's an odd irrationality to some character choices that the book lampshades but never explains that always rub me the wrong way, but I otherwise really like this one. With "Chivalry", it competes for being my second favourite story here, behind "The Price".
"The Witch's Headstone" is sort of an adventure story about a boy raised by ghosts venturing briefly into the mundane world. The story is a chapter from "The Graveyard Book" novel, and while it does work on its own here, it has a lot of references to earlier stories and set-up for later ones that should have been edited out before it was published on its own. It's entertaining, and in the stronger half of the collection for sure, but if you're interested, I'd strongly recommend you just pick up the full novel instead.
"Instructions" is a wonderful poem taking the reader through a fairy tale of evocative tropes and notions. It doesn't quite qualify as a story per se, but if it did, it'd likely edge out "The Price" as my favourite here.
Kristiansen's black and white illustrations are decent, but for me, I can't say they really gave any added value. They're too few and too anonymous to really bring anything to the stories that my imagination hadn't already done by the time they showed up.
All in all, you'd probably be better served buying a different Gaiman short story collection than this one (and as this is one that reprints stories from several other ones, you'll also avoid a lot of overlap if you skip this before buying some of the other ones), but it's definitely varied in both form and style, and should have a little something for most tastes -- assuming your tastes lean towards the supernatural in any way, at least.
"The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds", a noir parody in a world populated by nursery rhyme characters, is a cute concept, but I'm not sufficiently familiar with British nursery rhymes to get the most of out of it. I
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recognise when a reference is being made as I'll usually have heard the rhyme's title, but I don't know the actual lines to it, and so the humour Gaiman is presumably trying to mine is frequently lost on me."Troll Bridge" is a dark modern day fairy tale of a boy meeting a troll under a bridge, and then repeatedly as he grows older. It's perhaps not quite my cup of tea, verging too far into horror territory for my tastes, but I do find the writing engrossing here.
"Don't Ask Jack", a tale about a Jack-in-the-box which might or might not be haunted, has a similar mood to "Troll Bridge", but I like it a tad more, perhaps because it is shorter and simpler and I feel like I'm wasting less time getting to the point.
"How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" is, if you have a moment, a nesting narrative fantasy crime comedy thriller about a pandimensional club for con artists. It's quite good, I find, until the very end, where the end twist is not much of a twist at all, even though all the characters behave as though it's beyond brilliant. That punctures it a bit for me, but I see this is by far the oldest of the stories in the collection, and having been written much earlier in Gaiman's career, I can partially forgive it the underwhelming ending. If the end twist had been more satisfying, this would easily have been a favourite of mine, as it is otherwise very much up my alley of preferences.
"October in the Chair" is another nesting narrative. In this one personifications of the calendar months tell each other stories. I've read this one before and always feel a bit unsure if I'm missing some kind of essential point -- a couple of very short stories in the beginning aside, there's really just one proper, long tragic story told during the proceedings, and I'm unclear on why that wouldn't have worked just as well on its own, and what the framing device adds to it. While that story is fine (a bit too slow and ponderous for my tastes), the framing narrative is far more memorable, and I kind of feel like the whole of it ends up a bit lesser than the sum of its parts somehow.
"Chivalry" is a fantasy comedy of an old woman buying the Holy Graill on a whim. It's a bit of a delight, and, if you can stomach some low key zaniness, one of the collection's high points by my tastes.
"The Price" is a pseudo-autobiographical (Gaiman seems to have made himself the protagonist) fantasy horror of a black cat that shows up at his house and keeps getting hurt badly during mysterious fights at night. It feels a bit self-indulgant in the set-up, spending a lot of time describing the other cats of the house (though most of them never appear again in the story), but I find it otherwise to be the most memorable and gripping tale included.
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is a science fiction mystery drama of two boys attending an all-girl party that is not what it seems to be. Honestly, I didn't get much out of this in its comic book version a few years ago, and I think I now might have gotten even less out of this short story that it was adapted from. The premise is potentially quite fun, but there isn't much of a narrative springing from it.
"Sunbird" is another highlight, a fantasy horror comedy of an Epicurean club wishing to dine on a phoenix, and the story here I've read the most times previously. There's an odd irrationality to some character choices that the book lampshades but never explains that always rub me the wrong way, but I otherwise really like this one. With "Chivalry", it competes for being my second favourite story here, behind "The Price".
"The Witch's Headstone" is sort of an adventure story about a boy raised by ghosts venturing briefly into the mundane world. The story is a chapter from "The Graveyard Book" novel, and while it does work on its own here, it has a lot of references to earlier stories and set-up for later ones that should have been edited out before it was published on its own. It's entertaining, and in the stronger half of the collection for sure, but if you're interested, I'd strongly recommend you just pick up the full novel instead.
"Instructions" is a wonderful poem taking the reader through a fairy tale of evocative tropes and notions. It doesn't quite qualify as a story per se, but if it did, it'd likely edge out "The Price" as my favourite here.
Kristiansen's black and white illustrations are decent, but for me, I can't say they really gave any added value. They're too few and too anonymous to really bring anything to the stories that my imagination hadn't already done by the time they showed up.
All in all, you'd probably be better served buying a different Gaiman short story collection than this one (and as this is one that reprints stories from several other ones, you'll also avoid a lot of overlap if you skip this before buying some of the other ones), but it's definitely varied in both form and style, and should have a little something for most tastes -- assuming your tastes lean towards the supernatural in any way, at least.
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Similar in this library
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2008)
User reviews
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: M is for Magic is a collection of Neil Gaiman's short stories that are selected to appeal to young people. (The name is a riff on Ray Bradbury's similar YA-themed collections, S is for Space and R is for Rocket.) They run a gamut of genres, from noir-ish mystery to ghost story to creepy
Review: All of these stories had been published in one form or another before this collection appeared, and many of them have been published in other places since. It was my bad luck that I didn't look too closely at the table of contents before I bought this book, and as a result, I was already familiar with almost half of the stories. I'd read "October in the Chair", "How to Talk to Girls at Parties", and "Sunbird" in Fragile Things, the poem "Instructions" in both Fragile Things *and* the anthology A Wolf at the Door, and of course "The Witch's Headstone" became a chapter in The Graveyard Book. And, while I don't mind revisiting short stories as a general rule, Gaiman and his editors managed to pick out some of my least-favorite stories from Fragile Things, and in general I was just hoping for more new material than I actually got.
Of the stories that *were* new to me, I mostly enjoyed them, although it was still somewhat of a mixed bag. The story that starts the collection, "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" felt like a less-funny version of Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy (although to be fair, "Blackbirds" does predate Fforde's book by about twenty years), plus hard-boiled detective noir has never really been my genre of choice, even when it's applied to children's stories (with the exception of Eoin Colfer's Half-Moon Investigations, which I really enjoyed). "Troll Bridge" was an interesting blend of spooky and melancholy, if somewhat predictable; "Don't Ask Jack" was certainly creepy, with the potential to be nightmare-inducingly scary, but it was too short to really reach it; and "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" was a clever if not particularly memorable little con story dressed up in the cloth of fantasy. My two favorites amongst the new-to-me stories were "The Price", which was surprisingly dark tale of the Devil; and "Chivalry", which was a wry and charming take on a bit of Arthuriana. (As a side note, all of these except "Blackbirds" are also included in Gaiman's collection Smoke and Mirrors, which I have not read.) 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: This collection is probably great for its intended purpose: to provide a bunch of Gaiman's short stories that are appropriate for mid-grade/YA readers, readers who like horror stories or who have read Coraline but who aren't quite ready for some of the more adult parts of Gaiman's adult fiction. For grown-up readers, however, I think this book can safely be skipped by all but the serious Gaiman completists; if you're looking for short stories, I'd go with Fragile Things or Smoke and Mirrors instead.
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horror to tall tale to science fiction to fairy tale. Review: All of these stories had been published in one form or another before this collection appeared, and many of them have been published in other places since. It was my bad luck that I didn't look too closely at the table of contents before I bought this book, and as a result, I was already familiar with almost half of the stories. I'd read "October in the Chair", "How to Talk to Girls at Parties", and "Sunbird" in Fragile Things, the poem "Instructions" in both Fragile Things *and* the anthology A Wolf at the Door, and of course "The Witch's Headstone" became a chapter in The Graveyard Book. And, while I don't mind revisiting short stories as a general rule, Gaiman and his editors managed to pick out some of my least-favorite stories from Fragile Things, and in general I was just hoping for more new material than I actually got.
Of the stories that *were* new to me, I mostly enjoyed them, although it was still somewhat of a mixed bag. The story that starts the collection, "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" felt like a less-funny version of Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy (although to be fair, "Blackbirds" does predate Fforde's book by about twenty years), plus hard-boiled detective noir has never really been my genre of choice, even when it's applied to children's stories (with the exception of Eoin Colfer's Half-Moon Investigations, which I really enjoyed). "Troll Bridge" was an interesting blend of spooky and melancholy, if somewhat predictable; "Don't Ask Jack" was certainly creepy, with the potential to be nightmare-inducingly scary, but it was too short to really reach it; and "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" was a clever if not particularly memorable little con story dressed up in the cloth of fantasy. My two favorites amongst the new-to-me stories were "The Price", which was surprisingly dark tale of the Devil; and "Chivalry", which was a wry and charming take on a bit of Arthuriana. (As a side note, all of these except "Blackbirds" are also included in Gaiman's collection Smoke and Mirrors, which I have not read.) 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: This collection is probably great for its intended purpose: to provide a bunch of Gaiman's short stories that are appropriate for mid-grade/YA readers, readers who like horror stories or who have read Coraline but who aren't quite ready for some of the more adult parts of Gaiman's adult fiction. For grown-up readers, however, I think this book can safely be skipped by all but the serious Gaiman completists; if you're looking for short stories, I'd go with Fragile Things or Smoke and Mirrors instead.
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LibraryThing member TheoClarke
Wonderful short stories filled with warmth and wit as Gaiman plays with a variety of traditional forms and genres. Adults who dismiss this as fiction for children and teens will be missing an enriching read. The horror stories are not frightening for younger readers but some stories reflect
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adolescent interest in sex and may not be suitable for some parents. Show Less
LibraryThing member beserene
This collection of short stories (plus one poem) is nothing new for Gaiman fans; anyone who has read Fragile Things will have encountered virtually all of these selections before. The stories collected in this volume are intended to appeal to a younger audience and some of these are gems – the
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early short story that eventually fledged out into The Graveyard Book stands out here. The one that I connected with most, though, was “The Price”, a dark vignette that makes one feel shivery on the first reading and every one thereafter. Gaiman’s powerful stories remind you to be afraid of the dark. Show Less
LibraryThing member tapestry100
M is for Magic is a delightfully creepy collection of short stories from Neil Gaiman. These stories are typical Neil Gaiman, and I find that is a phrase that I frequently use about his work, but that's the best way to put it: typical Neil Gaiman. He has a way of writing something that is so
The stories are written for a younger audience, so they aren't quite as creepy as they could be, but that isn't saying that these stories aren't creepy and a little dark in their own right. Some of the stories that stuck out the most for me: The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a perfect example of Mother Goose meets crime pulp fiction; Don't Ask Jack is a little disturbing in it's vagueness and the secrets the Jack in the Box holds; Sunbird tells the tale of the Epicurian Club and their desire to expand their appetites to the extreme; and The Witch's Headstone was later incorporated into The Graveyard Book. The accompanying illustrations by Teddy Kristiansen are dark and creepy, so they fit in with the rest of the stories perfectly.
I enjoyed M is for Magic, but I'm thinking I should have maybe spaced the stories out a little more instead of reading them all at one time. Once finished, I was left wanting a little more, and I think that's because they are short stories, and I really wanted a little more substance from my latest Gaiman selection. Maybe it's time to move onto one of his novels for an 'older' audience, or maybe revisit The Graveyard Book; don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed these stories. Maybe as a bit of advice to other readers, space them out. You'll be able to savour them that much more.
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fantastical in such a matter-of-fact way that if you were to encounter one of these stories in the real world, you'd feel like it was an everyday occurance, yet special all the same.The stories are written for a younger audience, so they aren't quite as creepy as they could be, but that isn't saying that these stories aren't creepy and a little dark in their own right. Some of the stories that stuck out the most for me: The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a perfect example of Mother Goose meets crime pulp fiction; Don't Ask Jack is a little disturbing in it's vagueness and the secrets the Jack in the Box holds; Sunbird tells the tale of the Epicurian Club and their desire to expand their appetites to the extreme; and The Witch's Headstone was later incorporated into The Graveyard Book. The accompanying illustrations by Teddy Kristiansen are dark and creepy, so they fit in with the rest of the stories perfectly.
I enjoyed M is for Magic, but I'm thinking I should have maybe spaced the stories out a little more instead of reading them all at one time. Once finished, I was left wanting a little more, and I think that's because they are short stories, and I really wanted a little more substance from my latest Gaiman selection. Maybe it's time to move onto one of his novels for an 'older' audience, or maybe revisit The Graveyard Book; don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed these stories. Maybe as a bit of advice to other readers, space them out. You'll be able to savour them that much more.
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LibraryThing member SugarCreekRanch
This book was recommended to me as a good introduction to Neil Gaiman. It's a collection of short stories, of what I call "light fantasy" (lots of fantasy elements, but not building entirely new worlds). I enjoyed about half of them. I really liked "The Witch's Headstone", which I discovered is
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part of a larger work, "The Graveyard Book". I'll be getting my hands on "The Graveyard Book" soon. Show Less
LibraryThing member deadgirl
When I reached the second story, it all seemed so familiar. So I dug out my old Neil Gaiman books, and found that most of the stories have been published in "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Fragile Things". Nevertheless, I enjoyed revisiting these stories again, and was enchanted by the ones I haven't read
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previously. Show Less
LibraryThing member veracity
Most of these short stories have already been published in Neil Gaiman's other anthologies. The difference is that he is targetting this edition at young adults. Great to have just for the edition and the intro.
LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman and have his other short story collections, there really isn't anything new here for you. The stories have appeared in one collection or another. From those collections he's pulled a series of stories more suitable for children following, as he says in the
I say "mostly suitable for children" because, by Gaiman's own admission in the introduction, the stories that seem to stick most with children are those about ghosts and trolls, the horror stories. They are all harmless enough, and no worse than the *old* farie tales, but certainly not so nice and clean as the Disney versions.
`The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds' is a wonderful Dashiell Hammet version of all the old Mother Goose stories. `Don't Ask Jack' is a very short story that leaves most everything to the imagination of what might go bump in the night. `October In the Chair' is a similarly not-quite-ended (as opposed to unfinished) mood piece. `The Price' is for everyone who has ever imagined, or known, that the family pet leads bold and daring adventures protecting them from the things that stalk the night. And `How to Talk to Girls at Parties' just proves that girls really are aliens from some other world.
As always, Gaiman does a wonderful job of setting the mood in just a few words, and of pulling the punches just right in these short stories. And since, as the note on the contents page says, "Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. For coals." these stories really are for adults. To help us retain a bit of that sense of wonder and innocent dread of things that go bump.
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introduction, in the steps of Ray Bradbury's R is for Rocket and S is for Space. In fact, the story 'October in the Chair' is dedicated to Bradbury.I say "mostly suitable for children" because, by Gaiman's own admission in the introduction, the stories that seem to stick most with children are those about ghosts and trolls, the horror stories. They are all harmless enough, and no worse than the *old* farie tales, but certainly not so nice and clean as the Disney versions.
`The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds' is a wonderful Dashiell Hammet version of all the old Mother Goose stories. `Don't Ask Jack' is a very short story that leaves most everything to the imagination of what might go bump in the night. `October In the Chair' is a similarly not-quite-ended (as opposed to unfinished) mood piece. `The Price' is for everyone who has ever imagined, or known, that the family pet leads bold and daring adventures protecting them from the things that stalk the night. And `How to Talk to Girls at Parties' just proves that girls really are aliens from some other world.
As always, Gaiman does a wonderful job of setting the mood in just a few words, and of pulling the punches just right in these short stories. And since, as the note on the contents page says, "Writing imaginative tales for the young is like sending coals to Newcastle. For coals." these stories really are for adults. To help us retain a bit of that sense of wonder and innocent dread of things that go bump.
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LibraryThing member krau0098
My husband and I listened to this as an audio book. The audio book was read by Neil Gaiman himself.
As always the stories are wonderfully crafted and Gaiman is able to create worlds that each of the short stories allows you a quick glimpse of. I have always had a bit of a problem with short stories.
I was a bit disappointed though that this is not a new collection of short stories but a compilation of previous short stories that is meant to be appropriate for children. Some of the stories I had read previously in Neil Gaiman's "Smoke and Mirrors". I have not yet read "Fragile Things" but I have heard that the remainder of the stories are from that collection.
Also the reading of the stories was slightly disappointing. We were listening to this in the car and some parts of the stories, especially the troll bridge one, were whispered so softly by Gaiman that even with the radio cranked to full volume we couldn't hear what he was saying.
This book is quality Gaiman work and a great collection to buy for a young adult. If you own "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Fragile Things" and don't have a need for a more young adult focused book I would skip this book because you probably already own most of the stories. Still the stories are great.
As always the stories are wonderfully crafted and Gaiman is able to create worlds that each of the short stories allows you a quick glimpse of. I have always had a bit of a problem with short stories.
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Mainly my issue is that if the short story is good it usually leaves you wanting more. I am always a bit frustrated with good short stories because they seen to leave me unsatisfied. That being said I love all of Gaiman's works.I was a bit disappointed though that this is not a new collection of short stories but a compilation of previous short stories that is meant to be appropriate for children. Some of the stories I had read previously in Neil Gaiman's "Smoke and Mirrors". I have not yet read "Fragile Things" but I have heard that the remainder of the stories are from that collection.
Also the reading of the stories was slightly disappointing. We were listening to this in the car and some parts of the stories, especially the troll bridge one, were whispered so softly by Gaiman that even with the radio cranked to full volume we couldn't hear what he was saying.
This book is quality Gaiman work and a great collection to buy for a young adult. If you own "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Fragile Things" and don't have a need for a more young adult focused book I would skip this book because you probably already own most of the stories. Still the stories are great.
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LibraryThing member thioviolight
I've previously read most of the stories in this collection, but they delighted me all the same the second (third, fourth, nth?) time around. The ones new to me are gems as bright as the others. Some of my favorite Gaiman shorts are contained here: Chivalry, The Price, Don't Ask Jack, Instructions.
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All in all, a truly magical collection! Show Less
LibraryThing member ohioyalibrarian
Great stories by the master storyteller Gaiman. Some are deep enough that they will require somewhat sophisticated readers to grasp.
LibraryThing member wyostitcher
I read the critiques of the book and found others did not like it because of the enduring theme of death throughout the book. The themes really are not intended for younger children even though the book is marketed for children as young as ten-years-old. I too was uncomfortable with some of the
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themes of the stories and was ready for them to be over. It would require a more mature reader to read and understand the underlying themes. I admit the first story about Humpty Dumpty was easy to follow until the end when the murderer surprised me. There is some foul language but there were specific references to body parts and requires a mature reader. The magic that appears include prediction leading to death, changing places, and spirits helping spirits. These stories require a higher level of thinking in order for the reader to understand the author’s intent. Show Less
LibraryThing member wvlibrarydude
Good set of short stories. I don't get why a kid would like the Troll under the bridge, but I enjoyed all of them. Gaiman has a great imagination and ability to tell horror in a way that still captivates with wonder.
A decent collection that is easy to churn through in small chunks or all together.
A decent collection that is easy to churn through in small chunks or all together.
LibraryThing member alwright1
There were only two stories in this book that I hadn't read in the author's other short story collections. (I guess I should've looked at the table of contents before buying it.) Still, I enjoyed rereading some of my favorite Neil Gaiman stories.
It's a little unusual for a book aimed at young
As always, I loved exploring the worlds that spring from Gaiman's stories.
It's a little unusual for a book aimed at young
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readers because in many of the stories, the protagonists aren't children or young adults, but to say that young people wouldn't understand or enjoy the stories would be selling young readers short.As always, I loved exploring the worlds that spring from Gaiman's stories.
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LibraryThing member Fabulist
same stuff repackaged, but I still like it.
LibraryThing member susiesharp
This was a great book of short stories from Neil Gaiman.The first story The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds was my favorite because of the Noir feel to it.My second favorite would have to be The Price because the hero is a cat!But really I enjoyed every story in it.Highly recommend!
LibraryThing member katekf
The short stories in this small collection range from the almost scary to funny interpretations of classic nursery rhymes so that most children will find something they enjoy within it. None of the stories are terribly violent but some of them like the one about the troll under the bridge have a
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sad, darkness to them which would make them more appropriate for a more mature reader. The style of writing and vocabulary makes this book accessible to a middle school reader but due due to some of the themes, care should be taken in who its recommended to. A child who is thinking about doing their own writing would find wonderful inspiration here as Gaiman retells folk tales through various methods, which could act as suggestions for a writer. Show Less
LibraryThing member cassiusclay
personal response: I enjoyed about half of the stories in this collection. From what I understand many of these have been printed elsewhere, but I hadn't read any previous to reading this. A few of the stories, like How to talk to girls at parties, didn't hold my attention enough and I found them
Teen readers
Curricular Connections: This would be a great book for a literature class. Gaiman has a very unique writing style that could be compared with others, and the stories themselves offer great opportunities for discussion
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to be a dread to get through. Others though were quite enjoyable, such as The case of the Four and Twenty Black birds and Chivalry. A great story is also October in the Chair, attributing human characteristics to each of the months, and creating a cast of characters as diverse as the weather within them.Teen readers
Curricular Connections: This would be a great book for a literature class. Gaiman has a very unique writing style that could be compared with others, and the stories themselves offer great opportunities for discussion
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LibraryThing member CodeName5012
Some of the short stories seemed like they would appeal to adults more than teens. Some were very original and well-written; some were so-so.
LibraryThing member cissa
Good selection of stories. VERY big print, which makes it look like more book than it is.
LibraryThing member Moriquen
I took a few of Gaiman's books with me on holiday and this one was among the pile. I must say that it interested me the least. I've had this problem before with his short stories. I don't know what it is. I just love his longer novels, but his short stories seem to leave me quite cold. But then
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again I do have problems with short stories more often then not. Perhaps I just need more time to get into the frame of mind of a particular story, than the amount of pages can give me ... Show Less
LibraryThing member coralsiren
I really liked this collection of short stories. Each one of them has something unique and they're all quite different from one another. A very entertaining read, I just wish it were longer.
LibraryThing member MaryWJ
all the Gamin books are good; the only flaw here is that the first story is decidedly the best, so the rest kind of feel like a letdown. But, worth reading!
LibraryThing member tsisler
In the introduction, Neil Gaiman states that he's always enjoyed short stories, partly because if he didn't like one, he knew that something else would be along shortly. I find that phrase particularly fitting with this collection. I feel that some of the stories were brilliantly crafted, whereas
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other ones I could have done without. However, on the whole, I enjoyed this collection. And, as they are short stories, I find myself wanting to listen to my favorites again, like a beloved movie. I particularly enjoyed "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds," "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge," and "The Witch's Headstone." Gaiman has a great imagination which crafts some truly unique and intriguing situations. As I started listening to this book in October, I also appreciated its Halloween-esque qualities. Show Less
LibraryThing member wiremonkey
I've decided that I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up.
There.
End of review.
Just kidding! God, I crack myself up... M is for Magic is a collection of Gaiman's short stories packaged for children. At first, some of his choices surprised me (eg. the one about the troll where the protagonist grows
Critique:
Once again, another rave fest. I loved his introduction to children, telling them they need not like every story in the book. I loved the story about the elderly woman who finds the holy grail in the St. Vincent de Paul and puts it on her mantlepiece. When Galahad comes to fetch it, she drives a hard bargain, fixes him sandwiches and tea , and sends him on his way. The story that started the The Graveyard book is in here, as well as an awesomely hilarious take on a coming of age story about a boy who finally learns to talk to girls at a party and realises too late that the girls are well, not exactly girls...
To conclude, I repeat. I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up.
There.
End of review.
Just kidding! God, I crack myself up... M is for Magic is a collection of Gaiman's short stories packaged for children. At first, some of his choices surprised me (eg. the one about the troll where the protagonist grows
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up and ends up cheating on his wife), but I respect his choices and am the last person to think coddling our children by not letting them read about A-holes is acceptable, so I was soon on board. (Oh and the guy wasn't really an a-hole, although he did become a troll in the end. He was very sad about his divorce...)Critique:
Once again, another rave fest. I loved his introduction to children, telling them they need not like every story in the book. I loved the story about the elderly woman who finds the holy grail in the St. Vincent de Paul and puts it on her mantlepiece. When Galahad comes to fetch it, she drives a hard bargain, fixes him sandwiches and tea , and sends him on his way. The story that started the The Graveyard book is in here, as well as an awesomely hilarious take on a coming of age story about a boy who finally learns to talk to girls at a party and realises too late that the girls are well, not exactly girls...
To conclude, I repeat. I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up.
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