The Dangerous Alphabet

Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Gris Grimly

Title:The Dangerous Alphabet

Publication: July 27, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Children's, fiction

Pages: 32

Audience:5  and up

Rating: 2 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Favorite Quote: "A is for Always, that's where we embark;"

Synopsis (from the cover):
Two children, treasure map in hand, and their pet gazelle sneak past their father, out of their house, and into a world beneath the city, where monsters and pirates roam. The Dangerous Alphabet is a tale of adventure, piracy, danger, and heroism told in twenty-six alphabetical lines- although even the alphabet is not to be relied upon here.


My thoughts:
I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan. I've seen covers of his Blueberry Girl and  his other children's books, which seem happier. This book is pretty much an alphabetical, visual, childish version of Hell. I enjoyed some of the letters and what they meant, but it wasn't as enjoyable as his other works. The artwork is actually like the illustrator's name. It is grizzly and grimly. The artwork almost reminds me of Ren and Stimpy. I hated that cartoon. It is just not art that I would expect in a children's book. If I read this to a child, I would make sure they were at least five and has a pretty good grip on fact and fiction. Since, it is FINALLY October (I LOVE Halloween and October and all the wonderful things that come with autumn), I think this book would be perfect for a Halloween read.