The Gashlycrumb Tinies
The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing is an abecedarian book written by Edward Gorey that was first published in 1963. Gorey tells the tale of 26 children (each representing a letter of the alphabet) and their untimely deaths in rhyming dactylic couplets, accompanied by the author's distinctive black-and-white illustrations. It is one of Edward Gorey's best-known books,[1] and is the most notorious amongst his roughly half-dozen mock alphabets.[2] It has been described as a "sarcastic rebellion against a view of childhood that is sunny, idyllic, and instructive".[2] The morbid humor of the book comes in part from the mundane ways in which children die, such as falling down the stairs or choking on a peach. Far from illustrating the dramatic and fantastical childhood nightmares, these scenarios instead poke fun at the banal paranoias that come as a part of parenting.[3]
The first related work to the Gashlycrumb Tinies by a different author details the mis-adventures the children experience that leads them to their final demise, as depicted in Gorey's illustrations.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Tina Kelley (2000-04-16). "Edward Gorey, Eerie Illustrator And Writer, 75". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ a b Bodmer, George R. (1989). "The Post-Modern Alphabet: Extending the Limits of the Contemporary Alphabet Book, from Seuss to Gorey". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 14 (3). Project MUSE: 115–117. doi:10.1353/chq.0.0838. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ Shortsleeve, Kevin (2000-04-15). "Edward Gorey, Children's Literature, and Nonsense Verse". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 27. Project MUSE: 27–39. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1442. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ Woodruff, Matthew (2018). 26 Absurdities of Tragic Proportions. ISBN 978-1-72086-175-1.
External links
 | This article about an education-related book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a picture book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |