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Title details for Instructions by Neil Gaiman - Available

Instructions

by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available

""A perfect reminder to always be on the lookout for magic and wonder. Sometimes, we need those two things the most"" (Brightly.com, citing ""Books That Teach Kids What It Means to Be a Kind Person"").

In this breathtaking jacketed picture book, Neil Gaiman's lyrical poem guides a novice traveler through the enchanted woods of a fairy tale—through lush gardens, a formidable castle, and over a perilous river—to find the way home again.

Illustrated in full color by Charles Vess, Instructions features lush images of mythical creatures, magical landscapes, and canny princesses. Its message of the value of courage, wit, and wisdom makes it a perfect gift.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 27, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780061983955
      • File size: 2309 KB
      • Duration: 00:04:48

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 3.3
    • Interest Level: K-3(LG)
    • Text Difficulty: 0-2

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This snack-sized piece of audio is just enough to remind listeners of the sense magic and wonder Neil Gaiman evokes when he narrates his own work. Those who are skeptical about what a story can do in five minutes should give a listen to this: a fantastic adventure flush with mystical creatures, alternate realms, strange rituals, old things, and helpful strangers. While the story is intended for younger listeners, delight in this verse will be universal. But listeners should be sure to have audiobooks of Gaiman's other works handy as this poem makes one hungry for more. F.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 10, 2010
      "Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before," invites Gaiman's poem, first published in A Wolf at the Door (2000), reborn as a lavishly illustrated small-format picture book. A bipedal, bushy-tailed cat, wearing attire befitting Robin Hood, enters a fairy tale landscape filled with subtle and obvious allusions to familiar characters and stories. A cottage door leads him into a hallway of dramatic arches where a cat with an injured paw becomes his companion ("if any creature tells you that it hungers, feed it. If it tells you that it is dirty, clean it"). The wanderers press on, encountering a castle containing three sequestered princesses ("Do not trust the youngest. Walk on"), a ghostly ferryman, and other creatures. Recalling his work on Gaiman's Blueberry Girl, Vess's compositions are distinguished by elegant, winding lines—gnarled vines, plumes of smoke, dragon tails—and intimate frames that evoke moments of gentle wisdom. Young readers should relish the chimerical vision while older Gaiman fans should grasp the underlying suggestion that the compass used to navigate fairy tales can also guide us in the real world. All ages.

    • The Horn Book

      July 1, 2010
      Gaiman and Vess take readers through a fantastical landscape, advising them along the way with directions both grand and minute. The text, first published in A Wolf at the Door, riffs on fairy-tale conventions and vacillates between mystical and didactic. Vess's illustrations, starring a Puss-in-Boots-type character, are expansive but a little bland.

      (Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:3.3
  • Interest Level:K-3(LG)
  • Text Difficulty:0-2

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