“A is for Amy who fell down the stairs,” The Gashlycrumb Tinies begins. In 1963, prolific illustrator and author Edward Gorey (February 22, 1925–April 15, 2000) published an alphabet book so grimly antithetical to the very premise of the genre - making children feel comfortable and inspiring them to learn - that it took the macabre humor genre to a new level. Apart from Gorey, “Struwwelpeter” has influenced countless writers and artists, amongst them such geniuses as Charles Dickens and Maurice Sendak ( read more about it here).įor other Alphabet books reviews click on this link.It’s no secret I have a massive soft spot for alphabet books. This is a masterpiece of an alphabet book, certainly one with a difference.Īmongst influences on Edward Gorey’s writing was also “Struwwelpeter” by Heinrich Hoffman, a children’s book of controversial cautionary tales for children the appropriateness of its form for a children’s book is being debated to this day. His sombre black and white cross-hatched ink drawings fit the grim subject matter like a glove. The impact of “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” is enhanced through Edward Gorey’s signature economy of means with both the words and the pictures.

“The Tinies” would appeal to imagination which welcomes dark humor and thrives on contact with impactful storytelling. “Like no other alphabet book that we own” was the verdict, with the whole absurdity of its subject matter for an alphabet picture book declared as amusing.

But my cheeky 13 year-old teenager, who thinks of his mother’s tastes as utterly uncool, has appreciated the originality of “The Tinies” in an instant. I wouldn’t have read it to a three year-old learning to read. Each youngster is shown in a moment of suffering ranging from all sorts of discomforts (like falling out of a sleigh or having drunk too much gin) to totally dreadful ends (like drowning in a lake, being struck with an axe or perishing from fits). “The Tinies” of Edward Gorey, however, are young children who find themselves in far from secure and comfortable predicaments. We almost always associate this learning with comfortably secure, encouraging settings. “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” defies convention of the alphabet book genre, that of inspiring young children (usually learning to read) to explore letters that make up words that in turn make up stories. “The Bee-Man of Orn” one man’s quest to find his destiny, by Frank Stockton, illustrated by P.J.

The gashlycrumb tinies online