Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies: A Comic Book Review

Throwback Thursday! This review was first written for my Special Topics in Librarianship: The Graphic Novel class in September 2014.

Title: Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies 
Edited by: Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly
Published: 2000 by HarperCollins

About the Book:

A treasure and a treasury!
Innovative cartoonist and renowned children's book artists from around the world have gathered to bring you the magic of fairy tales through the wonder of comics. The stories range from old favorites to new discoveries, from the profound to the silly. A treat for all ages, these picture stories unlock the enchanted door into the pleasures of books and reading!
The Artist Librarian Review:
Editor Art Spiegelman is well known for his WWII graphic novel Maus.  I loved how all the art has a retro flair or vintage feel to them ... in fact, "The Gingerbread Man" by Walt Kelly was drawn in 1943, but all of the art feels like it could have been created over 50 years ago. I almost couldn't believe the copyright date says 2000.

The one that stood out to me the most was the "Fairy Tale Road Rage" and "Once Upon a Time" by Chris Ware -they're actually the last endpages, but it's amazingly witty. First, "Road Rage" is the instructions for the board game on the front endpages. I have to leave a small excerpt of the snarky directions:
"The smartest of all children will then deduce that, due to the similarity of these colors, some sort of relationship exists between the playing pieces, the spaces on the board, and the spaces on the storyboards. This child should be immediately excused from play and be signed up for top-level government service, as he or she is obviously more gifted than the adults who currently hold such positions."
The instructions also have a small six panel comic of two adult game collectors preparing to play the game.

"Once Upon a Time" is one of the most clever comics I've ever read. It's a circular, interconnecting comic of sorts. On each side of the page, there is a 8 panel comic with focus on a certain character (a frog, a wolf, a princess, and an old lady). You then flip the page a quarter turn (90 degrees) to read the next story. It's bittersweet, but definitely in the spirit of fairy tales. Though you can start anywhere, first I read the one I could clearly read with the pages open and facing me like a normal book. The art is simply illustrated but there's an adorable aspect to the work.

"The Fisherman and the Sea Princess" had some of my favorite art from that collection and that story ... wow. Kind of angsty and a bit reminiscent of the Cupid and Psyche legend (with Pandora's Box threw in).

Anyway, an interesting collection of stories. Definitely check it out if you have the chance. It's not just for children! =)

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