Gaiman in short bursts

SANDMAN was my introduction to the world of graphic novels as I am sure it was for many of us. I adored CORALINE, his snarkily frightening novel for intermediate readers a few years ago. However, I had not encountered Gaiman's short stories until this nifty little audio arrived from HarperChildrens a few weeks ago. I am a fan of story collection for the most part because, after 15 years of teaching middle school kids from the literature anthologies even I was tired of the stories normally anthologized. So, I often tout the collections of Don Gallo and others (James Howe, Michael Cart, and Lois Lowry to name a few). Gaiman's collection should prove popular with a myriad of readers as the stories are bizarre, unexpected, suspenseful, and humorous at turns.

The opening story is a parody/satire of the old hard boiled (pun coming) detective novel a la Raymond Chandler. Only this time, the characters are from nursery rhyme land including Humpty Dumpty (didja get the pun?). In other tale, a black cat defends it adopted family from the devil, a troll exacts a toll, and a jack-in-the-box is eerily creepy. The bonus here is that Gaiman is the narrator and a competent one at that (not always true of authors who narrate their own work). Some of the stories will appeal to middle school and more than a few are more appropriate for older teens. Give it a listen.