I Heart This Book
I first heard of Neil Gaiman from the students at the college where I used to work. I bought the Sandman series for that library and won instant approval for being so cool. Of course, I hadn’t read them and still haven’t (it’s easy to impress when you’re a librarian. You just buy stuff and the kids love you. You don’t even have to read it.) But now I’ve got a huge pile of Gaiman for grownups next to my bed, waiting for me to have a second’s break from YA.
Why the sudden interest, you ask?
The Dad I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish is about as close to perfect as picture books come. I’ve been raving about it to everyone who will listen. (Your turn!)
Goldfish is the bomb. It’s hilarious. It’s one of the books that’s a perfect storm of excellent writing and fabulous illustrations. My four year old and I crack up just listening to it in the car on my iPod. But the pictures - bam! So funny. Dave McKean, what a guy.
I’m also searching for the time to read Coraline with my 5th graders, and can’t wait to try out The Wolves in the Walls with the 3rd graders who keep asking me for “darker” books. (Really they do. They want books on Black Sabbath too.)
Gaiman is one of the few writers who don’t underestimate the intelligence of kids. I just love how he doesn’t lay everything out, he leaves you something to ponder. Why does the dad just keep reading his paper? Why the Queen of Melanesia? Why does his kid sister mumble when his mom comes home? (An excellent example of an illustrator and author working together.)
I’m sure Gaiman’s not for everyone. As in many of Raold Dahl’s books, his grownups are often clueless. The dad in Goldfish, and the parents in Coraline, might as well be mumbling like the parents in the Peanuts TV shows. The books are dark, and sometimes a little bit scary.
Like I said, perfect.