Instructions by Neil Gaiman

Instructions by Neil Gaiman was originally published as a poem in A wolf at the door and other retold fairytales (Simon and Schuster, 2001) but here is published in small picture book format, illustrated by Charles Vess (Bloomsbury, 2010) and it is a wonderful guide to what to do if you find yourself in a fairytale...



Here is a youtube book trailer for it - effective the way the colour saturates the illustrations - and it sounds like Neil Gaiman reading it himself...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRvqO1MjIs

Here for a copy of the poem, http://www.endicott-studio.com/cofhs/cofinstr.html

and here is Neil Gaiman's website with plenty to explore about this prolific and varied author http://www.neilgaiman.com/

Mouse circus http://www.mousecircus.com/ is the official Neil Gaiman website for young readers, and here is the page about Instructions which ends with "Its message of the value of courage, wit, and adventurousness makes it a perfect gift for anyone embarking on a journey, especially graduates of any age."

Reading Instructions instantly transported me to my childhood reading of all the Andrew Lang fairytale retellings of Perrault and Grimm and others in The Olive Fairy Book, The Crimson Fairy Book, The Lilac Fairy Book, The Orange Fairy Book - with all the third sons setting off to find their fortune, old crones under trees repaying kindness with directions, impossible tasks and creatures with mysterious powers - wolves, toads, eagles along with witches, giants, goblins and ogres...
Andrew Lang was my great-aunt's godfather, and I have all the books from the early 1900s he inscribed for her at Christmas and birthdays, with their gold edged pages, embossed and decorated front covers, colour plate illustrations with tissue linings.

Here is a link to Neil Gaiman's advice for young writers... read a lot, live a lot, write a lot... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpNb5NwxX_g&NR=1

Online reading groups and BookTrust

If you'd like to be part of an international reading group, check out the UK BookTrust's newly established online reading group with a new book discussed each month.

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Books/Online-Reading-Group

Their first book discussion is about Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book - a "cross over" novel for young people (maybe intermediate students up) and adults. This site gives you some notes about the book and the author, then some discussion points, followed by further reading, an interview with the author and links to his website. It also asks for preferences / suggestions for next month's book.

The interesting Discussion points for The Graveyard Book might be useful in a classroom or literature circle setting too...

• There is a rich tradition of orphans in children's literature, as well as a tradition of child-of-destiny themes in fantasy literature. Discuss how Bod fits squarely into both categories.
• The graveyard is populated with characters we typically think of as evil. How does Gaiman play with this idea, particularly in the characters of Silas, Miss Lupescu, and Eliza Hempstock? What do these characterisations suggest about human nature?
• If you are familiar with Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, discuss how The Graveyard Book is reminiscent of Kipling's classic tale. How does a familiarity with The Jungle Book enhance the reading of Gaiman's story?
• At the close of the novel, Mrs Owens sings about embracing the human experience: 'Face your life / Its pain, its pleasure, / Leave no path untaken' (p. 306). How does this theme resonate throughout the novel?
• 'A graveyard is not normally a democracy, and yet death is the great democracy' (p. 29). How is death the great democracy? How does Gaiman explore the relationship between the dead and the living?
• Boundaries—between the living and the dead, the graveyard and the world—are an important part of the novel. How does Bod test these boundaries? What are the consequences of Bod's actions?
• What do you think of the advice that Bod receives from Nehemiah Trot, the dead poet: 'Do not take revenge in the heat of the moment. Instead, wait until the hour is propitious' (p. 233)?
• Like much of Gaiman's work, The Graveyard Book manages to fuse elements of humor, horror, fantasy, and mystery into a single story. Identify examples of these elements and discuss how they work together. How might the story read differently if one or more of these elements were removed?
• The Graveyard Book has been published as a crossover title. What further nuances in the text do you think adults readers will pick up on?

If you haven't explored the Booktrust website, I really recommend you do - it is FULL of amazing resources http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Home

"Booktrust is an independent national [UK] charity which encourages people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading."