Emily's Secret Book of Strange: Emily the Strange

I'd seen occasional illustrations of Emily the Strange for years, in odd places all over the country, and had glanced at one or more of the Emily books in bookstores and been intrigued. So...when I saw this one at the library (one of two Emily books we own), I decided to finally take the plunge and read it. Emily, who started as a counter-culture commercial icon, is an intriguing literary creation. She's an unusual cross between a punker, a goth and the seriously twisted little girl Wednesday Addams. This book doesn't really have any plot to speak of -- it is merely a strung-together series of Emily-themed slogans or sayings. The true charm or intrique of this book, however, is the hidden imagery. The artist (Parker) and publisher use a show more variety of different inks to create images within images. My favorite is a large, red flower, in whose petals (if you shift how you hold the book), you can see ghastly, ghoulish faces. Emily is definitely an acquired taste, and one that I don't think I'll stick with, but this book is certainly an interesting one, and should appeal to folks with both a wry, dark sense of humor, or fans of Charles Addams work.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec10-03.htm show less

Perfection. Just plain perfection. This book was very quick to read and it was amazing because if you turn certain pages in the light, you can see hidden things like dragons, spiderwebs, etc. The few words in this book just flowed beautifully with the pictures. Well done!

I found Emily at a time in high school when I really needed her. And even today at 26yo she still feels like a huge part of me. I was able to accept myself and all my weirdness because she showed me it was ok to be different. I love all of these books! I recommend them to anyone feeling left out ,weird, or like they don't belong.

This book is about a 13 year-old named Emily who has 4 black cats and her strange world. This book discusses Emily's world in a negative, darker manner. For example, "A picture speaks a thousand weirds...". The book also preaches things Emily finds important, such as being strange. This is an overall easy read, there is barely even 1 sentence per page. Though, the book is very dark. There are only 3 colors used: red, white, and black. One should be warned, the subject material is depressing and can be considered "emo".
E.Y.

Companion book to the novel Emily the Strange. Gorgeous art that takes you behind the scenes in Emily's life. Beautiful art with little text.

From my booklog:

This is a charming little tome. I have enjoyed the various items in the Emily Strange line for some time, and it's fun to have a whole little book about her and her companion cats. This is more a small collection of art than it is a book, but I like it a great deal.

Book 6 in 2009.