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Aug 03, 2010

Oscar rated it:

One of the things that makes Neil Gaiman a relatively unique – and popular – writer is his subtle incorporation of mythological and fairy tale motifs in his fiction. One of my favourite stories in this respect is Instructions, a piece that appeared before in short story collections like M Is for Magic and Fragile Things. It’s great news then, that this little tale has now been published separately with wonderful illustrations by Charles Vess, who’s worked with Gaiman before on works like Stardus More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 17, 2010

Ames rated it:

Azaam and I read this book together, while standing in an aisle at a college book store in Claremont, CA. :3

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

Oh, dear. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for this particular "journey" today as I don't seem to have loved this as much as most other reviewers... I really did appreciate many aspects of it, and some of the "instructions" are just wonderful (I especially liked the return part of the journey, with all the trust) but some felt a bit awkward or unexplained, especially in the context of the greater journey, and I guess I just wanted a bit more overall. The narrative is More...

7 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2011

babyhippoface rated it:

I'm still trying to figure this one out....

I get that it's Gaiman's answer to Dr. Seuss's Oh! The Places You'll Go. I get that it's saying, "The lessons we learn from fairy tales can help us throughout life." I get that it's full of allusions to fairy tales all through it. But what I'm not getting is ALL of the allusions.

Example: I get the reference to two sisters, one that speaks diamonds and one that speaks toads and frogs. I know that story. But why does Gai More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

I love Neil Gaiman's stories, poems, graphic novel, and books. So realize that I am giving you this review with a somewhat biased viewpoint. Instructions is a poem that I first read in Gaiman's collection of children's stories "M is for Magic." I loved the poem, which is an somewhat eccentric list of instructions about how to survive a fairy tale...and on a deeper level how to live you life in general.

This is a great book for young children, older children, adults and all a More...

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Aug 08, 2010

Laura rated it:

I love the poem by itself so I was very excited when I heard there would be a picture book version. The poem is a wonderful paean to the tradition of fairy tales and folklore. If you know fairy tales well, it is delightful to spot the echoes of familiar tales. And for everyone, fairy tale lover or not, these are indeed a great set of instructions for "everything you'll need to know on your journey"—whether that journey takes you through Faerie, or through Life, or everywhere in betw More...

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Jul 22, 2010

Marie rated it:

In Instructions, Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess come together to create a story that offers advice for children and adults alike. The subtitle describes it best: Everything You’ll Need to Know on Your Journey.

Everything about this book is beautiful. The writing and the illustrations are just gorgeous. On the surface the book appears to be a picture book for younger children. However, after reading it a second and third time and admiring the stunning illustrations, I realized that th More...

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Jul 19, 2010

Erin rated it:

Neil Gaiman being one of my favourite authors, I was extremely excited about the book, especially after reading a bit of the poem and about the illustrator but it did not live up to expectations. The poem is absolutely beautiful- the type of thing that I'd buy books or or hang above my desk or paint on my wall. The illustrations are beautiful and fit the fairytale feel of the piece well. However, the illustrations sadly don't go well with the text. They don't always seem to be following alon More...

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Jun 03, 2010

Aldrin rated it:

Reading Instructions is akin to being in a hypnotic state. Its first couple of pages suggest that you "Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before. Say 'please' before you open the latch. Go through..." The preceding pithy commands instigate the hypnogenesis; they are the first of many that make up the short poem that flows through this new picture book, the latest collaboration between Coraline author Neil Gaiman and The Book of Ballads and Sagas illustrator Charles Vess.
More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 22, 2010

Kelly rated it:

I've long loved this poem, which was the first thing I copied into my commonplace book when I started it earlier this year. Having a copy of it with illustrations by Charles Vess makes this Gaiman book that much more interesting. As with Blueberry Girl, Vess has done a wonderful job turning a poem into a picture book that is completely understandable - and gorgeous. Love that when the proxy who is following the "instructions" looks down the well, the "other world" looks very More...

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May 19, 2010

Tasha rated it:

Making this poem into a picture book was pure genius, especially with illustrations by Vess. Gaiman takes one fairy tale and folk tale image after another and offers them up as instructions for your journey (in life, reading and magic). The book follows the journey of a cat-like creature who travels through a door into a strange world of myth and whimsy. Readers, young and old, will be charmed by beloved motifs, surprised by familiar yet strange moments, and ultimately completely satisfied as More...

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Apr 06, 2011

Josiah rated it:

"Trust ghosts.
Trust those that
you have helped to
help you in their turn.

Trust dreams.

Trust your heart
and trust
your
story."

—Instructions, P. 22

Neil Gaiman is so good at writing picture books that have real heart to them. Instructions carries the same loving inner spirit of poetic goodness that tenderly quickened Blueberry Girl, etched as its predecessor was with words of consola More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Lisa rated it:

This might be my favorite Gaiman book, so far. I always want to love his work more than I do. I don’t know that I adored this, but I really appreciate it. The story is a set of simple instructions, about one per page, about how to live life, and it’s amusing because it uses how to survive a trip through fairy tales as its examples. Most of the time I was thinking How clever! although at times I noticed myself arguing with the philosophy presented, but I appreciated what was being attempted and I More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2010

Bookwatcher rated it:

One word to describe this book: Marvelous!

After

Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess' Stardust Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie (Graphic Novel)

I decided to buy all Gaiman&Vess partnership. Instruction didn't disappointed me. It's really a magic story with unforgettable illustrations.
I read it to my 5 years old nephew and he love it and ask me to tell it again... and again... and again... and again... and one more time.

5 stars

FYI, I strongly advice the audio book too... it's free, Neil Gaiman himself put it on Youtube (it's his voice)
More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 21, 2010

Tressa rated it:

Neil Gaiman's adult fiction is a little too whimsical for my taste, but since I expect a picture book to contain its fair share of whimsy, his newest juvenile fiction gets a thumbs up from me.

Instructions: Everything You'll Need To Know on Your Journey is about a bipedal cat who must follow a set of instructions if he is to exit back through the wooden gate where his journey began.

Beyond the wall, the garden looks tranquil at first glance. Cinderella's pumpkin carriage is More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 15, 2010

Larissa rated it:

A Puss in Boots has one day decided to take a walk following a path he has never used before. It is a path well hidden and only just discovered. But this will be no ordinary walk; it is a guided tour through a world of enchantment and danger. If you do not follow the Instructions you may never find your way home, but if you pay attention you may just learn the mysteries of a fairytale land.

Instructions will guide you through a light and magical story full of friendship, mysteries and More...

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Jan 12, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Subtitled Everything You’ll Need To Know On Your Journey, this is both a fairytale adventure and book of practical advice. The book is illustrated by Charles Vess in a manner reminiscent of the original Mother Goose publications. With curling vines, downy geese, shining marble floors and mysterious devilish eyes, the illustrations add fantasy to the already magical tale of adventure. The wording is simple and elegant and told as advice before a journey. As is true Gaiman fashion, there are dark More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Abbie rated it:

This picture book is bargain priced on Amazon for $6.00, so I had to purchase it! I've read "Instructions" before as part of Fragile Things. The audio book is read by the author and is fabulous! Vess's illustrations take the reader through a world which becomes increasingly fantastic. The illustrations are whimsical and delightful but not sparkly or lacey.

Gaiman's text references various fairy tales and other traditional tales with Gaiman's usual panache and ends, after a More...

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Jul 31, 2010

English rated it:

I love this short story and the illustrations are beautiful. I loved it so much, I sent a copy to my friends when they announced they were having a baby.

This 100 word story (or perhaps poem) provides the necessary guidelines for the best chance of surviving the fairytale you might find yourself in. If I ever find myself in a fantasy story, I will be sure to take this small book with me, at least in my head.

If you love adventures, always hope you'll end up on/in one, or s More...

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Oct 11, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I think I agree that I like the poem better then the illustrations, and perhaps better without them. Don't get me wrong, the illustrations were nice, but I wanted more sense of discovery and wonder. I think that the poem either needs to stand alone with your imagination filling it out, or an illustrator that fills the page with discoveries and wonder, someone who when you look at the page you discover all kinds of things--like KY Craft or Graeme Base. I don't know, the illustrations are fine her More...

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Jun 07, 2010

Jared rated it:

Makers of children's books take note: Don't talk down to your audience. Don't "dumb down" your story because your readers will be children. Don't simplify the artwork to the point where there are no surprises lurking in the corners.

"Instructions" is another fantastic children's book adapted from a poem by Gaiman by his long-time collaborator Charles Vess. Like "Blueberry Girl," it wasn't originally written as a children's book, and therefore doesn't More...

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May 07, 2011

Gary rated it:

This illustrated version of Neil Gaiman's poem "Instructions" tells "everything you'll need to know on your journey." The words and images seem to come from another time. The illustrations perfectly complement Gaiman's advice, which emphasizes the importance of courage, generosity, and an adventurous spirit, without quite guaranteeing that everything will always go well or as planned.

Life's metaphors are rendered here in words and pictures that will be satisfyin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 19, 2010

Emily rated it:

Gaiman/Vess score high marks with this book, subtitled Everything You'll Need to Know for Your Journey. While the instructions are fanciful and adventure based, they are wholly applicable to life and the journey we each take. It is a quest, a fairy tale and a made-up story, but truly the instructions in this book make good tips for those embarking on the first steps of any journey:Do not forget your manners. Do not look back. Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).I love the end, for it is More...

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Dec 05, 2011

Arielle rated it:

It's a lovely book, with beautiful illustrations. It's also highly referential, which is both a good and a bad thing. At their best, the references add entire back stories to a line of text and create a richness of history and questing that isn't present at the forefront. But the references can also leave a reader wanting more, if the source is vague or just not understood. So I liked the book, but wanted to love it, and the highly referential nature kept that from being the case. It's still gre More...

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May 11, 2010

Renee rated it:

I think this is probably my favorite of Neil's picture books! I've always had a soft spot for this poem. It takes me right back to reading Grimm's Fairy Tales with a flashlight under my covers as a child. Neil's books always make me want to write. This made me want to curl up and read Grimm's Fairy Tales again. Of course, I've read this before and Charles Vess' illustrations made it feel brand new. They are gorgeous. The cat is handsome and I would definitely say Puss in Boots rather than More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Scarlett rated it:

My kids really loved the pictures in this book. There's a page where there are images from several different fairy tales and they liked pointing them out. That said, I think the narrative was a bit confusing for them. They kept asking questions and seemed not to totally understand the continuity. Maybe this is a better book for adults, or kids old enough to understand it a bit more. When I told them it was supposed to be instructions for if you find yourself in a fairy tale, one of them ask More...

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Oct 11, 2011

Gregory rated it:

Neil Gaiman, teams up with illustrator Charles Vess, to bring an engaging invitation to journey. Instructions, is everything you need to know on your journey. Where does that well lead to? How do you treat the old lady that sits under the tree? What, on earth, do you do with an eagle feather? The illustrations by Charles Vess are just right for young imaginations: not to boring, nor too scary. This book may be overlooked due to a cover that is understated, but don’t overlook it, the book More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Abigail rated it:

Rich in fairy-tale allusions, and proffering a wealth of advice for the hero upon his archetypal journey, Neil Gaiman's poem Instructions - which first appeared in the fantasy collection A Wolf at the Door: and Other Retold Fairy Tales, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling - has been remade here as a picture-book, with artwork by Charles Vess. The result is an engaging journey into a landscape that readers of the genre will recognize immediately, and a celebration of all the terrors and joy More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 27, 2010

Izlinda rated it:

One of Neil Gaiman's earlier poems is printed and illustrated separately by Charles Vess.

I admit, sometimes I get a little piqued when authors reprint their stories in different mediums or in multiple editions (prose into graphic novels, prose reprinted with actors' faces on the cover, prose reprinted by a different publisher, prose reprinted for a 10th anniversary, etc). I feel it's a little money-grubbing.

But I found this little book delightful. I ordered it through my More...

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Apr 27, 2011

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

This is Neil Gaiman's poem, "Instructions" bound as a picture book and illustrated by Charles Vess.

I love this.

I have to admit that when I first came across Gaiman's poem in Fragile Things, I read it, thought it was pretty cool, and moved on, both in the book and in my head. It wasn't until I met Charles Vess at a book signing for Drawing Down the Moon and he told us about this project that I really got excited about the whole thing. He had prints of his artwork f More...

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