The Griffin and the Minor Canon

by Frank R. Stockton, Maurice Sendak

When a griffin shows great fondness for the sculpture of himself above the great door of the church, and equal admiration for the Minor Canon, the townspeople fear that the terrifying creature will live among them forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Fairy Tales

56 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century. Stockton avoided the didactic moralizing common to children's stories of the time, instead using clever humor to poke at greed, violence, abuse of power and other human foibles, describing his fantastic characters' adventures in a charming, matter-of-fact way.

Reviews

[Paula]

This is a story book written in 1885 and then illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1964. Frank R. Stockton is best known for writing the short story, "The Lady and The Tiger." There are overtones of that tale is this fable/fairy tale. The art by Sendak fulfills his desire to not illustrate in pictures what Stockton illustrated in words. Nicely done. Plus the relationship between the Griffin and it's statue and the minor canon and the people of his quiet town is worthwhile. The griffin 'likes' the minor canon more than the canon will ever know! The bad children learn to learn due to the influence of what they believe about the Griffin. The story, with lots of guidance, is appropriate for 4-5 year olds and appropriate for adults of all ages. A Clever tale with effective, classic art as emphasis.

[Dolly]

This is an odd, but entertaining tale about a griffin who changed the nature of a town to be kinder and more grateful of the ministrations of the Minor Canon of the church.

I enjoyed the story, but did not love it. I did appreciate Mr. Sendak's illustrations, and that says a lot for me, since many of his books tend to creep me out.

[Sarah]

A longer picture book. Took us three sittings.

[Desi A]

What a poignant story. I feel like stories like these don’t get written so much anymore. I’m glad I found it on the library shelf.

[Roger]

What a great story, including the artist’s introduction of the author. Frank Stockton wrote The Griffin in the 1800s. Maurice Sendak illustrated it in the 1960s. Also, he explains why he deliberately drew the Griffin differently than Stockton described him.

[Mathew]

I enjoyed this book but found myself enjoying The Bee-Man of Orn more. As with The Bee-Man, Stockton has written a modern fairy tale of sorts and I have found his work reminding me a lot of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Here, the relationship between fantastical creatures and humans often sees a role reversal in who truthfully display the more humane disposition.

The story tells us of the last griffin who, upon finding out that the local cathedral has a stone statue of his likeness, descends on the town only to be confronted by the Minor Canon who has been forced by the people to deter the griffin and send him on his way. Through one thing and another, an unlikely - and rather one-sided - friendship is forged and the griffin decides to stay and assist the Minor Canon in his duties. With it not being in his nature to be cruel or horrible to anyone, the Canon endures this but as the seasons pass, the time for the Griffin to eat looms...

The Griffin and the Minor Canon is a wonderful little parable of intolerance. The townspeople are quick to spurn those those who do not fit it whether because of how they look differently or for the fact that they challenge their ideas: quite a fitting text for today's classroom.

I cannot end my review by not mentioning Sendak's illustrations of course. These illustrations precede Where the Wild Things Are and it is interesting to see how joyously he plays with the image of the large and, potentially scary Griffin, being around children - a precursor to Max and his Wild Things, certainly.

[Nicole]

I'm not really sure why this book still goes out in our library. There might be a reason why my library is the only one who still has it. Yes, it has beautiful illustrations by Maurice Sendak, but the story is old and tired and irrelevant-I had no idea what a canon was. A quick read, but I don't think kids would ever pick this up.

[John Yelverton]

It is a rather crazy tale of narcissism, cowardice, and sacrifice that has so many points to make in so little space that you're a little overwhelmed by the end.

[Angelo IG]

Ένας γρύπας μαθαίνει ότι υπάρχει ένα πέτρινο ομοίωμά του πάνω από μια εκκλησία. Επειδή δεν ξέρει πώς μοιάζει, ταξιδεύει ως εκεί για να δει τον εαυτό του. Από αυτή την απλή αφετηρία (με μια σχεδόν παραμυθένια αύρα) ξεδιπλώνεται μια ιστορία όπου ο γρύπας δένεται με τον μοναδικό άνθρωπο που τον αντιμετωπίζει με καλοσύνη, ενώ η υπόλοιπη πόλη τον φοβάται και τελικά θυσιάζει τον πιο ηθικό της άνθρωπο για να σωθεί.

Ως σύνολο, το διήγημα λειτουργεί σαν μια ήρεμη αλλά κοφτερή αλληγορία: το "τέρας" αποδεικνύεται πιο δίκαιο και πιο σταθερό από τους ανθρώπους, ενώ η κοινωνία παρουσιάζεται μικρόψυχη και έτοιμη να προδώσει όποιον δεν την εξυπηρετεί. Με απλή γλώσσα και καθαρή δομή, η ιστορία σχολιάζει πόσο εύκολα η καλοσύνη γίνεται αναλώσιμη και πόσο συχνά η πραγματική αξιοπρέπεια βρίσκεται εκεί που δεν την περιμένεις. Μου άρεσε αρκετά η ιστορία γενικά. Μπορεί να είναι απλή, αλλά έχει δυνατά στοιχεία.

[The Quiet Archivist]

An interesting tale about the true power of kindness and good deeds, all wrapped in a "fantastic and deadly beast" format.

You can listen to me narrate it on the AIC Stories podcast soon over at http://aicstories.com

This is just the second work from Frank R Stockton that I've read, the first being popular 'The Lady or the Tiger' and I'm really finding I enjoy his writings. This one is a quick read(or listen if you want to hear me narrate it I suppose) that is well worth the time!

There is a message about humanity that, I believe, is vitally important to where we are today as people in these trying times. It always fascinates me just how much these authors are able to write stories of pure fiction that share a message that can be impactful no matter how much time passes.

[Valowlie]

"There were only two good things in this town: the Minor Canon and the stone image of myself over your church door. One of these you have sent away, and the other I shall carry away myself."

Catch me shedding tears over a 6k-word 1880's short story. I liked this one. I really liked it.

"Do you know," said the monster, when he had finished, "that I have had, and still have, a great liking for you?"

(Read it here.)

[Ange]

A beautiful book which I enjoyed very much. Although I'm not normally a fan of Sendak's illustrations they are fabulous in this book. The buildings and the Griffin are spectacular. The story is a little odd, and is probably a bit too long for a picture book, but it has a lot of charm and some lessons about fear, courage and friendship.

[Zumzaa]

8/10
Stockton commands a mastery over the faery voice and creates a dynamic and juicy pairing in the titular characters. So much so, I am left incredibly wanting more from them, but that can only be a good thing when they are contained within such a tightly wound narrative of cosmic fear and social reform.

[Brian]

Cute story, but I'm confused about why the Griffin would only want to eat the one person it likes, but doesn't eat anything and starves? That ending makes no sense to me. Perhaps I'm missing something? At least the Minor Canon got a happy ending.

[Nell]

Really good story and awesome Sendak illustrations.

[Juergen John Roscher]

An unusual short-story about the relationship between a small town religious leader and a great griffin that teaches the town folks to appreciate what they have and treat each other better.

[Elinor Loredan]

Naturally, the people expect the griffin to be a savage eating machine, but he is in fact more refined than any of them. A story about expectations versus reality and about judging prematurely.

[Alfred Malco]

Lovely!

[Greg]

The folk never did overcome their excessive fear, but transferred their gratefulness to a neighbour. In that sense, the griffin is a noble sacrifice, although vain.

[Emily]

Another witty and engaging little yarn by the masterful Frank Stockton.

[Tirzah Eleora]

This is one of my favorite picture books ever! It tells the story of a griffin who goes to a town to see the statue of himself over the door of the church, terrifying the inhabitants. The villagers make the Minor Canon (a minor canon is a member of the staff at a cathedral, for those of you who are wondering), who is responsible for all the unappealing tasks in the town, go out to meet the griffin and discover what he wants. The griffin takes a liking to the Minor Canon and becomes his only friend and ultimately his champion.
I love the way the griffin, though unanimously considered a fearsome creature, shows kindness in stark contrast to the townspeople who complain and blame others for their troubles at every turn.
The illustrations, done by the legendary Maurice Sendak, are of course wonderful.
It's so sad this gem is no longer printed!

[Angela Randall]

We own this as part of a collection of short stories by Frank Richard Stockton: The Lady or the Tiger and Other Short Stories

[Jackie]

This is one of my favorites of this collection "Unnatural Creatures" put together by Neil Gaiman. It reads like a fairytale/folktale and was a charming read. I love how its main creature is a griffin as we don't see a lot of stories with a Griffin main character. I liked the relationship had with the Minor Canon.

[Marybeth]

Frank Stockton is where fairy tales went. This one in particular crosses all levels of understanding.

[Skylar Burris]

The language is a little formal and old-fashioned, but that didn't seem to stop my daughter from enjoying it. It's a unique and, in some parts, funny story.

[Isao Matsumoto]

I read this book when I was a child. I read this book by Japanese translation. This book gave me a great impression....

[Paul Hankins]

An illustrated reworking of a story from Stockton by Maurice Sendak.

[Rui Carapinha]

Just lovely,

[Anna]

Interesting children's book that I didn't discover until I was an adult. I have yet to read it to a wee one to see their reaction.

[lola Franco]

The kids really enjoyed this story. Sendak's illustrations, as always, are perfection.