The Ghastly Dandies Do the Classics

Gr 3–6—Gibson offers a collection of seven stories-among them "Don Quixote," "Hamlet," and "The Great Gatsby"-each covered in eight pages. A glance at Gibson's website reveals his penchant for graphic classifications (pasta, cameras, breweries) and visual connections, e.g., cocktails and literature. So, the leap toward an illustrated book was inevitable, but Gibson has much to learn about the craft of creating a picture book or easy-reader narrative. Much of the insipid dialogue ("Daisy! Please share!" and "Look, ghost! To sleep,/maybe to dream-/I've had it up to here!") is printed in a large font, while some of the text gets lost in the gutter. The digital illustrations are frenetic and colorful, but the scale and composition are clumsily handled. An omniscient narrator relates a watered-down plot summary on banners, while furry black monsters-the Dandies-enact the dramas. The question is: who is the intended audience? This book is not clever enough to work on multiple levels: it is neither sophisticated enough to appeal solely to adults, nor engaging enough to sustain a child's interest. There are better adapted classics or fractured tales available for young readers.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library