Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Farrar Straus & Giroux (1974), Edition: 1st, 101 pages
Description
Ten stories recount the Devil's exploits, successes and failures, in Hell and in the world above.
User reviews
LibraryThing member devenish
This little book of just over a hundred pages is one that I have re-read many times with great enjoyment.ten stories which show the Devil (usually) getting his come-uppance in somewhat amusing ways. delightfully illustrated by the author.
LibraryThing member delzey
Ten little short story gems concerning the Devil himself and his inability to corrupt good souls or fully control bad ones.
I stumbled onto this (as with many older titles these days) in an sales alcove at my local library. Discarded, withdrawn, and donated books are in constant rotation, and with
These stories fit a type of tale that I know there is a name for, but can't quite recall. In each, Old Scratch has decided to adopt a disguise to trick the unsuspecting into performing an act of evil, or has co-opted the innate evil of certain individuals for his own purposes. His ruses never work, and his plans always fail, which is as it should be.
But what a delight to see such a classic form of evil as the main character in a collection. On the one hand it seems novel to take a character who is usually an antagonist and make them the butt of every joke, but then the devil always gets his due just as if he had once again been outwitted in someone else's story.
Rarely do I find story collections so even that it's hard to pick a favorite, but the one that stays most with me is the last story "The Power of Speech." In it, the Devil has a fondness for goats, and one goat in particular, but the goat is wearing a bell and this is somehow like garlic to a vampire (who knew?). The goat's owner is no dummy and will not remove the bell, so the Devil grant the goat the power to speak. What a mistake that is! A more whiny, grumpy, cantankerous goat you'd never heard! Realizing what a pain this new talking goat is she decides to remove the bell and send him on to the Devil. Once in Hell, the goats incessant chatter drives the Devil crazy, and while he is able to grant the power of speech he cannot remove it. Finally he turns the live goat into a stuffed one and returns him to his previous owner.
Babbitt writes with the breezy charm and economy that mirrors classic folk tales (and who know, perhaps these are folk tales I'm unaware of) and there's something secretly delicious in wondering if Satan's really going to finally have something go his way. They read like a cross between something Carl Sandburg might have cooked up if he were reinterpreting some Grimm tales. The characters are vivid, well drawn in such little space, and the stories feel much more full then their page counts would have you believe.
When I finished this book I thought my 11 year old would like the stories. "Oh, yeah, I already read those. They're good. I think there's a second book of Devil stories as well." Turns out she's right, there is. I had the wind taken from my sails that I couldn't spring a new-old title on her, but at least I was correct in thinking she'd enjoy it.
I stumbled onto this (as with many older titles these days) in an sales alcove at my local library. Discarded, withdrawn, and donated books are in constant rotation, and with
Show More
prices between twenty-five cents and a dollar it's impossible to resist. I'm always so surprised when I stumble on a title I haven't come across before, or an author I recognize but not the book in question. Just another one of those reminders about how much is out there to discover, how there will always be hidden gems to be mined with careful eyes.These stories fit a type of tale that I know there is a name for, but can't quite recall. In each, Old Scratch has decided to adopt a disguise to trick the unsuspecting into performing an act of evil, or has co-opted the innate evil of certain individuals for his own purposes. His ruses never work, and his plans always fail, which is as it should be.
But what a delight to see such a classic form of evil as the main character in a collection. On the one hand it seems novel to take a character who is usually an antagonist and make them the butt of every joke, but then the devil always gets his due just as if he had once again been outwitted in someone else's story.
Rarely do I find story collections so even that it's hard to pick a favorite, but the one that stays most with me is the last story "The Power of Speech." In it, the Devil has a fondness for goats, and one goat in particular, but the goat is wearing a bell and this is somehow like garlic to a vampire (who knew?). The goat's owner is no dummy and will not remove the bell, so the Devil grant the goat the power to speak. What a mistake that is! A more whiny, grumpy, cantankerous goat you'd never heard! Realizing what a pain this new talking goat is she decides to remove the bell and send him on to the Devil. Once in Hell, the goats incessant chatter drives the Devil crazy, and while he is able to grant the power of speech he cannot remove it. Finally he turns the live goat into a stuffed one and returns him to his previous owner.
Babbitt writes with the breezy charm and economy that mirrors classic folk tales (and who know, perhaps these are folk tales I'm unaware of) and there's something secretly delicious in wondering if Satan's really going to finally have something go his way. They read like a cross between something Carl Sandburg might have cooked up if he were reinterpreting some Grimm tales. The characters are vivid, well drawn in such little space, and the stories feel much more full then their page counts would have you believe.
When I finished this book I thought my 11 year old would like the stories. "Oh, yeah, I already read those. They're good. I think there's a second book of Devil stories as well." Turns out she's right, there is. I had the wind taken from my sails that I couldn't spring a new-old title on her, but at least I was correct in thinking she'd enjoy it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member HippieLunatic
This was a cute collection, and it pains me a bit that I can't come up with a better descriptor for this work. I enjoyed reading the stories about the successes and failures of the devil, getting a feeling for the love of mischief that Babbitt must have.
It certainly wasn't the most meaningful thing
It certainly wasn't the most meaningful thing
Show More
I have ever read, and I didn't necessarily take a lot away from it... but I enjoyed reading it, which says a fair amount. Show Less
LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
I read this book because I loved Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting. This was nothing like that.
This selection felt very juvenile in its writing style. Many of the stories felt very similar to each other.
Each selection is meant to have the reader walk away with the sense of a moral. The end product
If you haven't read Tuck Everlasting, I highly recommend that. If you have, rest in that. The prose of Tuck Everlasting was pure joy.
This selection felt very juvenile in its writing style. Many of the stories felt very similar to each other.
Each selection is meant to have the reader walk away with the sense of a moral. The end product
Show More
just really didn't suit me though. If you haven't read Tuck Everlasting, I highly recommend that. If you have, rest in that. The prose of Tuck Everlasting was pure joy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member diovival
Entertaining, light read. Each of the ten stories revolve around the Devil himself in some way or other.
Contents...
Wishes
The Very Pretty Lady
The Harps of Heaven
The Imp in the Basket*
Nuts
A Palindrome***
Ashes
Perfection**
The Rose and the Minor Demon
The Power of Speech
*This was my favorite story of the
**A close second for favorite story. The ending clinched it as a standout
***This one sticks with me as well. Even when the Devil doesn't get his way, we can still lose.
Contents...
Wishes
The Very Pretty Lady
The Harps of Heaven
The Imp in the Basket*
Nuts
A Palindrome***
Ashes
Perfection**
The Rose and the Minor Demon
The Power of Speech
*This was my favorite story of the
Show More
bunch. I loved the ambiguity of it all. **A close second for favorite story. The ending clinched it as a standout
***This one sticks with me as well. Even when the Devil doesn't get his way, we can still lose.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1976-1977)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 1979)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
101 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
0374317704 / 9780374317706