The most wholesome of all short story volumes of Neil Gaiman. The only problem I have is that it is too short — and you can find many of these stories in his other books too. ( )

* The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds 4/5
* Troll Bridge 2.5/5
* Don't Ask Jack 5/5
* How to Sell the Ponti Bridge 4/5
* October in the Chair 5/5
* Chivalry 3/5
* The Price 4/5
* How to Talk to Girls at Parties 2/5
* Sunbird 2/5
* The Witch's Headstone 5/5
* Instructions 5/5 ( )

Sarà che di quest'autore non avevo mai letto niente prima d'ora..
Sarà che per me il racconto gotico o horror per eccellenza è quello di Poe..
Oppure sarà per chissà quanti altri motivi..ma, sinceramente, ho trovato questo libro abbastanza stucchevole e per niente avvincente.
Chissà, forse l'ho letto nel periodo sbagliato? Non ci credo poi così tanto. ( )

Like many reviewers, I find Neil Gaiman's short stories to be hit or miss. I have a sort of love-hate thing with Neil's short stories. Some of them are the best stories I've ever read, and some I find to just be tedious. Gaiman is fine with this. As he admits in his introduction: you don't have to like them all. So instead of focusing on what I don't like. I'll tell you why I think this is my favorite collection of short stories by Gaiman. Sure, they are all recycled from other publications, but that doesn't bother me. You see M Is for Magic collects my favorite four Gaiman short stories in one book, so for me it's a win-win. Chivalry is hands down one of my top three favorite short stories of all time. It's brilliant. It's up there with Flannery O'Connor, Bradbury, and Shirley Jackson's short stories. I'm also quite fond of Troll Bridge, The Price, Sunbird, and How To Talk To Girls at Parties. Instructions, a wonderful short poem at the end of this collection, is also an amazing picture book for children that I admire.

Now why isn't this five stars? Well, the other stories in the collection just weren't my cup of tea and I thought they were week entries in what could easily be a greatest hits collection.

The title, while a nod to Ray Bradbury, is a bit misleading as well. You would think this is a story collection for young tikes. I don't think this a book for children per se. However, it is a good middle grade/young adult read. There are some mature themes within this book.

If you haven't read Chivalry yet, do yourself a favor, read it! ( )

Rated "Good" in our old book database. ( )