Friday, September 7, 2012
A Halloween Treat & Edward Gorey's Ghosts
A Halloween Treat/Edward Gorey's Ghosts is the first "new" book by Edward Gorey to be published since 1999's The Headless Bust. The book is published by Bloomsbury USA, and is now available.
A Halloween Treat is a short piece, obviously created by Mr. Gorey for a periodical or similar publication. The ten delightful illustrations - each accompanies one letter for the word Halloween plus one additional picture - feature children and Mr. Gorey's signature cats in various disguises out Trick or Treating. The "cat bat" for the second "e" is particularly memorable. The participants occasionally comment on their adventures.
When the book is flipped over, Edward Gorey's Ghosts can be read from the other side. This "book" features 24 illustrations, each of which includes a ghost. Culled from Mr. Gorey's vast illustration career, the images come from the Bellairs book series (which is full of ghosts!), pictures made for posters and pamphlets, obscure drawings, and Mr. Gorey's own books. While many of the images may be familiar to his fans, there are several wonderful surprises in this book.
I enjoyed this book, but I wish the ghosts had a source reference under the pictures.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is sort of a pop quiz without an answer key!
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