Instructions

Vital information if you’re going on a quest, whatever it may be. Short and sweet.

The quester is an anthropomorphic cat and as she travels, she makes friends with a tabby cat who follows her on her quest. I kept thinking 'I know that story ... and that fairy tale ...' but I can't quite remember them.

Instructions opens with

Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before,

There are other instructions which would apply equally well to Life as to a quest, such as

Remember your name.
Trust your heart
Do not forget your manners.

Richly illustrated by [[Charles Vess]].

4 stars

Wonderful! A fairy tale masquerading as a how-to -- simple but not simplistic, and completely enchanting. Charles Vess' illustrations are an indispensable part of the magic that Gainan's quiet poetry weaves. These are two artists who are well-versed in the world of fairy tales, with its darkness and its charm. This is a perfect delight of a book -- I would say gem, but gems are cold and they cut (as Gaiman reminds us).

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 for us to look at. As I flipped through them, I knew this was going to be something special.

And it is.

Basically instructions for surviving a fairy tale, Gaiman weaves many themes into this short-ish poem. Help who you can. Don't trust those who seem untrustworthy. Trust show more yourself. Come home at the end.

And suddenly you realize that he could be (is?) talking about how to live your life well. And you are reminded again what a master Gaiman is.

As for the illustrations--perfection.

I love Vess's artwork. It has such a perfect fairy tale feel to it. And when you sit down to really look at just one of these illustrations, you are blown away by the amount of subtle detail worked in.

I highly, highly recommend this. Children will love it, and so will readers of any age who understand that the truest advice can be found in "children's books." show less

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 joys to be found therein.

Although I enjoyed the poem, its strength, for me, lay chiefly in the allusions, from the mention of the twelve months sitting around the fire (see: Samuil Marshak's The Month-Brothers: A Slavic Tale, or Rafe Martin's Twelve show more Months), to the description of the dangers of spewing diamonds and roses (see: Charlotte Huck's Toads and Diamonds). As a narrative, it was somewhat lacking, and sometimes felt a little disjointed (yes, even as a poem), but I was willing to forgive that, because of my enjoyment of the references, and the artwork by Vess. Recommended to fairy-tale readers, and to fans of Gaiman and/or Vess. show less

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 is fantastic.

A beautiful poem and one that I didn't even know came in its own book format for I had found it hidden in a collection of stories of which I couldn't remember. Fortunately a few months back my sister made mention of the poem while finding me and ordering me this book.

Although it takes on the ring and taste of a fairytale instruction manual the book's words can also be used to understand the wisdom of the world that we live in. It is beautiful for those who can read and for those who may only be able to see the pictures.

One of the things enjoy about Neil Gaiman's writing is his subtle incorporation of mythological and fairy tale motifs in his fiction. 'Instructions' plays with the typical fairy tale structure. Gaiman uses very spare prose to remind readers of all the twists and turns that await those who travel on the path or stray from it. This is a book that is and isn’t a story, is whimsical and sober at once, playful and cautionary. The illustrations by Charles Vess are a wonderful with surprises and secret details sprinkled here and there throughout the pages.