Author: Tom Adams
Illustrator: Celsius Pictor
Release Date: August 2, 2022
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
This is
a lovely little book, especially if you have a child who loves a touch of gruesome
and weird. Framed as a found book by a Dr. McCreebor, with
an introduction from his great-granddaughter, a Dr. Leila McCreebor, the text
by Adams and illustrations by Pictor take the reader on a tour of the weird things
and unusual practices that make up the world.
The
items run a range – there is the rat king, perpetual motion and similar
machines (including the famous one of a tiger mauling a British solider – there
are masks, discussions of burial practice, magical items and so on. There is even a brief bit about historical figures.
Because
it is a child’s book, think a child’s version of something like Atlas Obscura, the
entries are not detailed as an adult book.
However, for a children’s book with a fictional frame, they are pretty
good.
The
illustrations are wonderful. What I particularly
like is the limited use of color, so that when a color is used, it stands
out. The book isn’t just by the original
McCreebor, there is also annotations by his granddaughter. I do wish there had been more of these, perhaps
providing more historical information, but I love – LOVE – the fact that the
authors used a female descendent as opposed to another male. It was a nice touch and made the book, the
found manuscript frame, more inclusive.
While the
book is creepy and does deal with items such as a Bloody Maiden and the Guillotine,
the book is not overly graphic or overly scary.
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