The Da Vinci Cod and Other Illustrations To Unwritten Books

by Chris Riddell

Who is the mysterious hero of Wuthering Tights? How do you Grill a Mockingbird? Are you brave enough to face the Heart of Dorkness?
There are many shelves in the library of unwritten books, all of them empty. Inspired by their blank pages, this remarkable collection of drawings turns the literary canon on its head.

Genres: Humor, Art, Picture Books, Books About Books, Comics

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Chris Riddell was born in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was an Anglican priest and a member of the ANC. The family moved to England in 1963, when Riddell was one year old, and he spent his childhood in a number of different locations, as his father moved between parishes. Both of Riddell's parents continued to be active in the anti-apartheid movement.

Chris Riddell is an internationally acclaimed writer and illustrator whose many awards include the Nestlé Gold Award and two Kate Greenaway Medals—the most prestigious prize for illustration in the UK. He is the creator of more than one hundred books for all ages, including the immensely popular series the Edge Chronicles and his latest chapter book series, starring the irrepressible Ottoline Brown, which School Library Journal called "exceptional." Chris lives in Brighton, England, with his wife and three children where he invents his amazing characters in a very tidy shed in his yard.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political cartoonist and children's book author and illustrator Chris Riddell takes aim at the literary canon in this hilarious little collection of classic spoofs, pairing his charmingly spiky illustrations with imaginative variations on some well-known titles. From the titular The Da Vinci Cod to the amusing To Grill a Mockingbird - not to mention such contenders as Bloke House, The Satanic Nurses (haha!) and The Apes of Wrath - no work of fiction, be it popular or classic, is safe from this artist's quizzical eye. Pairing an illustration and title on each page, The Da Vinci Cod and Other Illustrations to Unwritten Book doesn't take long to peruse, but the book-lover with a sense of humor will probably find herself returning to particularly humorous examples. My own favorite was undoubtedly The Prisoner of Brenda.

[Faith-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really funny. It's filled with illustrations that are puns of famous book titles. If you're a bibliophile, you'll love it!

[John of Canada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically great detailed work by Riddell.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty!

[Dian Achdiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebenarnya bukan 'currently read' sih ya, karena isinya hanya plesetan judul-judul plus ilustrasinya. Mungkin 'currently laugh' lebih tepat xDDDD

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one hand, these comics were very funny; on the other hand, the book didn’t quite live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.

It helped that I’d read or was very familiar with the plots/characters of most of the books.

My favorite comic, perhaps because I’m a fan of sick humor, perhaps because it has always been one of my favorite books, was the one parodying To Kill a Mockingbird. In my opinion, these ran the gamut from brilliant to just okay.

I appreciated how at the end of the book he has a “with apologies to” section where he lists all the books (with original publication dates) and their authors (with birth and, if applicable, death dates.) I admit that I was surprised by how many books were listed because when I read through the comics, this seemed to be such a puny book.

A lot of my favorite books or books perfect for these comics were included, and the premise is wonderful.

[Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isengnya Chris Riddell membuat ilustrasi bagi buku yang tak pernah ditulis. Sebetulnya judul-judul buku plesetan dari karya yang ada.
Bisa tebak beberapa nggak?
To Grill A Mockingbird
Captain Corelli’s Mandarin
The Satanic Nurses
Valley of the Trolls
Total ada 58 buku yang diplesetkan judul dan diberi ilustrasi kocak.

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr Riddell is a true artist in that his work can offer new layers when you find out a little more information and also prompt you to imagine or discover things that may have been hidden. This is a fairly lightweight piece of literary parody but the illustrations, charming and full of detail as they are, offer the possibility of further adventures.

[Carfig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny unwritten books, with no problems for the artist and author arguing about anything. And they take up no room on the bookshelves! "The Apes of Wrath," "To Grill a Mockingbird," "The Satanic Nurses," "The Prisoner of Brenda," and my favorite, "The Red Badger of Courage." Wonderful illustrations naturally!

[Snow]

I am unfortunately not bibliophile enough to get all the references (yes I know there’s a list at the end but I still don’t know half the books because I don’t read) but this was still really cool! Picked it up because I own some of the Neil Gaiman books with Chris Ridell illustrations.

[melmarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary puns, laugh-out-loud illustrations by the very talented Chris Riddell, what more can you ask for?

[Faidz Zainal Abidin · Rating 3 out of 5]

5* illustrations

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read: quick read before returning to the opp shop. 3 hilarious ones, some of the others went over my head. Others just funny....

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable. Perfect gift.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

57 XD

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Riddell turns his talented hand to parrody illustrations of famous novels. He even includes a list of the titles homaged at the back for the curious. A fun, diverting little picture book.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I nearly wet my pants from laughing at this book, the first time I read it. Twisting classic (or very popular) book titles, Chris Riddell includes illustrations that perfectly capture the inanity of the spoofs. From "To Grill a Mockingbird," to "The Secret Gordon," to "Wuthering Tights," The Da Vinci Cod offers page after page of hilarity with only a few titles that are obscure enough to dull the joke.

[Ro Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed all the book references. Also the glossary in the back makes it a little more attainable. If you are not familiar with any of the books just check the glossary. Very clever unwritten books. :)

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out with really funny book puns then went on to just okay or even bad ones. I did not know about half of the books parodied in here, and had actually read even less. He reused the Jane Ear pun in Goth Girl and The Ghost of a Mouse.I love the illustration style.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious. I'm bringing this to work and stashing it on my desk. All my literary minded friends are very welcome to peruse. Another fantastic Ashland find.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me laugh every time I look at it. So clever.

[Catherine Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! Always loved Chris Riddell's illustrations!

[Hikaoru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this 'cause I'm a fan of the illustrations. It was funny mostly because I've seen the book titles somewhere.

[Ansi Widya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute cute cute.

[B-zee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daftar buku yang belum ditulis. Seperti biasa ilustrasinya favorit, humornya kadang agak terlalu pahit, tapi menyenangkan.