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Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork
A girl dresses in a bunny costume to earn her dad's approval…A boy bakes a cake and takes out his dad in the same afternoon…These are just two of the offbeat and utterly captivating scenarios readers will find in this collection of stories inspired by narrative artwork. Nine charcoal drawings, each one hauntingly surreal, were the creative spur for eighteen different authors. Pairs of writers were sent the same image and asked to write a story to accompany it. The results are fascinating: some of the couplings are strikingly similar; others couldn't be more different, and all make terrific reading.
Named a Top Ten Art Book for Youth by ALA Booklist.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
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1106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 1, 2010
It's been quite a while since I finished this book, but I remember how much I loved it even though months and months have passed. The premise of having two stories originating from the same piece of artwork worked effectively; furthermore it was interesting to compare the short stories of favourite authors such as Sarah Dessen, M. T. Anderson and John Green with their other work - a peek into the mind of the author, if you will. It's a little tricky to find, but a good scour of the internet will lead to an inexpensive copy and a truly good read.
May 27, 2010
This books tells short stories about original works of art. It's called Twice Told because two different authors each write a story about the same picture. It's fascinating to compare their different takes on the art, and to compare the stories to the art itself.
March 3, 2021
I only read "Smells Like Kafka" by Neal Shusterman, which was a fantastic story about a girl and her bear, Kafka.
July 10, 2015
Man, these illustrations are really cool, although some are clearly more ripe for writing than others. I kept imagining some authors being jealous of the ones with better drawings.
The premise of this collection is great. It reminds me of exercises I always did in creative writing classes when I was a kid. The stories themselves are a mixed bag. For some stories it felt like the author was trying to write past their illustration, like they had to jam their picture in there somehow but it wasn't the story they wanted to write (looking at you, John Green). The better ones used the picture instead of writing around it.
Half of these are worth the read:
Sarah Dessen's "Sha-La-La" is very characteristic of the author, in theme and tone, in a good way.
Coville's "Saying No to Nick" is slightly cliché but combines sex, death, and religion in an interesting way.
Koertge's "Just A Couple of Girls Talking Haiku" and Marino's "What I Did Last Summer" are both charming and funny.
John Green managed to squeeze out a modern teenage love story from a picture of a lone adult woman in a sixties diner, which is a little annoying but ultimately charming (as is the rest of his work) and the title, "The Approximate Cost of Loving Caroline," is quintessentially Green-ian.
The standout pair of "Angel Food" by M.T. Anderson and William Sleator's "Chocolate Almond Torte" are thematically similar but work well together; the former is the best story in the collection by a mile, an absurd and creepy riff on "becoming a man" that nails every beat.
Margaret Peterson Haddix's "Essie and Clem" is sweet but not saccharine, a refreshing, mature romance.
The closer, Lubar's "Habitat for Humanity," is a concise punchline that relies more on the illustration than any of the others, demonstrating the point of such an exercise.
Of the ones that don't land, few are actually bad—they're mostly dull or cliché. Worth noting are Flinn's "Bunny Boy," which was actually the story that made me hunt down this collection again after reading it when I was a kid. It made an enormous impression on me at the time, but now I just found it pointlessly depressing. Werlin's "Rebecca," a play on an incident from Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name, Is nicely done but rather pointless—why write it again, since du Maurier has already written it? And perhaps a YA anthology is not the place for an allusion to an 80-year-old novel. The only truly awful story is Adoff's "The God of St. James and Vine," an embarrassing free-form narrative poem about ~the streets~. A cringe in the form of a poem.
I wish someone would redo this experiment for an adult audience. The YA perspective is unnecessarily limiting, and I'd love to see what writers would come up with if they didn't feel pressured to fit every story into the mouth of a spunky teenager.
The premise of this collection is great. It reminds me of exercises I always did in creative writing classes when I was a kid. The stories themselves are a mixed bag. For some stories it felt like the author was trying to write past their illustration, like they had to jam their picture in there somehow but it wasn't the story they wanted to write (looking at you, John Green). The better ones used the picture instead of writing around it.
Half of these are worth the read:
Sarah Dessen's "Sha-La-La" is very characteristic of the author, in theme and tone, in a good way.
Coville's "Saying No to Nick" is slightly cliché but combines sex, death, and religion in an interesting way.
Koertge's "Just A Couple of Girls Talking Haiku" and Marino's "What I Did Last Summer" are both charming and funny.
John Green managed to squeeze out a modern teenage love story from a picture of a lone adult woman in a sixties diner, which is a little annoying but ultimately charming (as is the rest of his work) and the title, "The Approximate Cost of Loving Caroline," is quintessentially Green-ian.
The standout pair of "Angel Food" by M.T. Anderson and William Sleator's "Chocolate Almond Torte" are thematically similar but work well together; the former is the best story in the collection by a mile, an absurd and creepy riff on "becoming a man" that nails every beat.
Margaret Peterson Haddix's "Essie and Clem" is sweet but not saccharine, a refreshing, mature romance.
The closer, Lubar's "Habitat for Humanity," is a concise punchline that relies more on the illustration than any of the others, demonstrating the point of such an exercise.
Of the ones that don't land, few are actually bad—they're mostly dull or cliché. Worth noting are Flinn's "Bunny Boy," which was actually the story that made me hunt down this collection again after reading it when I was a kid. It made an enormous impression on me at the time, but now I just found it pointlessly depressing. Werlin's "Rebecca," a play on an incident from Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name, Is nicely done but rather pointless—why write it again, since du Maurier has already written it? And perhaps a YA anthology is not the place for an allusion to an 80-year-old novel. The only truly awful story is Adoff's "The God of St. James and Vine," an embarrassing free-form narrative poem about ~the streets~. A cringe in the form of a poem.
I wish someone would redo this experiment for an adult audience. The YA perspective is unnecessarily limiting, and I'd love to see what writers would come up with if they didn't feel pressured to fit every story into the mouth of a spunky teenager.
December 2, 2010
Twice Told is a collection of eighteen short stories influenced by nine unique illustrations. Scott Hunt, an illustrator by trade, decided to transpose the typical author-illustrator collaboration by asking authors to write short stories based on drawings he created. Hunt assigned two authors to each illustration and gave them free rein to interpret them resulting in this exceptional collection. The stories vary greatly in subject matter, but all address issue of or relating to young aduts. Even those stories that have similar themes are approached differently; Sarah Desson’s “Sha-la-la” and Alex Flinn’s “Bunny Boy” frame sexual abuse in completely different ways and from two distinct perspectives. Similarly, William Sleator’s “Chocolate Almond Torte” and Margaret Peterson Haddix’s “Essie and Clem” comment on the aftereffects of war on an individual and their family from the perspective of a young adult male, but the process of healing and the outcomes are not alike at all. The foundation of this book is Scott Hunt’s artwork. The illustrations are skillfully rendered and presented between each pair of stories. Each piece is considerably detailed without suggesting a story behind it. In Donuts, Hunt includes a phrase on a sign hanging on the donut shop that author Ellen Wittlinger uses to develop a character and drive the plot in her interpretation. Likewise, a seemingly dirty dish towel in a spotless kitchen helped direct William Sleator’s tale. The authors chosen for this collection provide a wide range of issues that a variety of readers can relate to including love, loss, dealing with or reluctance to change, overbearing or absent parent(s), and coming of age. Naturally, the writing styles and lengths of the stories differ, but the collection is not disjointed. The pairs of stories have a similar thread running through them: the illustration. Readers are able to experience two different perspectives on a piece of artwork and can even ponder their own interpretation. Twice Told will attract a variety of readers based on its creative concept and will keep their interest with its mix of playful and serious stories combined with the art that inspired them.
January 27, 2009
This was a book of short stories, in which excellent and well-respected young adult authors were given an illustration by Scott Hunt and they wrote a story about it. There were two stories about each drawing. The authors include John Green (Looking for Alaska), Ron Koertge (Stoner and Spaz), M.T. Anderson (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing), Sarah Dessen Just Listen, and, yes, even William Sleator (House of Stairs).
The drawings were sometimes ordinary, sometimes odd: a teenage girl gazes through a fence in the inner city, an morose African-American waitress stands in the doorway of a waffle shop, a beautiful cake shares the kitchen table with an axe, an old lady in a bathrobe menaces a bear in a front yard.
All of the stories were good, some of them were excellent. My personal favorite was by Bruce Coville (My Teacher is an Alien, not an author I thought I'd be interested in), whose tale was from the point-of-view of a 13-year old boy who died being "baptized" by his charismatic best friend. A close second was M.T. Anderson's story about an unpopular and sarcastic teenage boy whose father, on his 18th birthday, forces him on a ridiculous and dangerous camping adventure to "make a man out of him."
A few of the stories weren't very strong, but overall it was definitely worth the time it took to read.
The drawings were sometimes ordinary, sometimes odd: a teenage girl gazes through a fence in the inner city, an morose African-American waitress stands in the doorway of a waffle shop, a beautiful cake shares the kitchen table with an axe, an old lady in a bathrobe menaces a bear in a front yard.
All of the stories were good, some of them were excellent. My personal favorite was by Bruce Coville (My Teacher is an Alien, not an author I thought I'd be interested in), whose tale was from the point-of-view of a 13-year old boy who died being "baptized" by his charismatic best friend. A close second was M.T. Anderson's story about an unpopular and sarcastic teenage boy whose father, on his 18th birthday, forces him on a ridiculous and dangerous camping adventure to "make a man out of him."
A few of the stories weren't very strong, but overall it was definitely worth the time it took to read.
January 6, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I picked it up to find a short story for a class, but I ended up reading nearly every one of them in a couple of days! I love the concept of two writers telling the story of one picture, and how different those stories became! This book gave me a chance to discover new authors that I hadn't read before and read some really unique and enjoyable stories!
February 24, 2009
I always feel that short stories are difficult to read because you're expected to become "oriented" to the author's world within a few paragraphs and once you've finally started to care for the characters, the story is over. (I feel the same way about movies.) That's why this compilation struck a cord with me. Having an inspirational image to refer to during the orientation process was quite helpful.
Of course, some stories won me over more than others. My three favorites were "Just a Couple of Girls Talking Haiku," "Rebecca" and "Smells Like Kafka."
Favorite Quotes:
Can't we just start liking each other again? We liked each other five minutes ago!
And for a white-hot moment, the distance collapses all at once, folding into itself - and all at once, I see that the bright perfection of this feeling, this meandCarolinewithnospaces, could never ever have been possible without Jimmy.
tattlepot
Aunt Sophie awoke at eleven, cursing the foulness of mornings, believing they were God's punishment to humans for everything they were likely to do the rest of the day.
I've decided that I want parents - real parents - and I believe you can make the transformation.
Also, of course, the viewer of the picture takes in the whole image at once, whereas the reader of a story must, by necessity, read through a sequence of events that place over time. The artist can rely on simultaneity; writers must make do with sequentiality.
Of course, some stories won me over more than others. My three favorites were "Just a Couple of Girls Talking Haiku," "Rebecca" and "Smells Like Kafka."
Favorite Quotes:
Can't we just start liking each other again? We liked each other five minutes ago!
And for a white-hot moment, the distance collapses all at once, folding into itself - and all at once, I see that the bright perfection of this feeling, this meandCarolinewithnospaces, could never ever have been possible without Jimmy.
tattlepot
Aunt Sophie awoke at eleven, cursing the foulness of mornings, believing they were God's punishment to humans for everything they were likely to do the rest of the day.
I've decided that I want parents - real parents - and I believe you can make the transformation.
Also, of course, the viewer of the picture takes in the whole image at once, whereas the reader of a story must, by necessity, read through a sequence of events that place over time. The artist can rely on simultaneity; writers must make do with sequentiality.
May 22, 2012
I found this book during my obsession-with-John-Green phase and the concept sounded interesting - for each illustration, two authors wrote short stories. It was interesting to see similar themes pop up in each story. For the illustration "Cake" (which shows an axe laying beside a cake on a table), both authors had a theme of hatred for a father. For the illustration "Donuts" (which shows a heavy man standing in front of a donut shop called Marty's), both main characters worked in the donut shop, but neither were Marty himself.
While it was an interesting exercise, none of the stories really captured me aside from one of the cake stories. The tone of this collection felt sort of "old" - like vintage young adult kind of old. I think part of it was that the illustrator's style is a bit old-fashioned and most of the illustrations appear to be set back in the 1950s, and so most of the stories had a little of that tone to them as well. The concept of more than one person writing about the same image would be great for a creative writing class or writers group.
While it was an interesting exercise, none of the stories really captured me aside from one of the cake stories. The tone of this collection felt sort of "old" - like vintage young adult kind of old. I think part of it was that the illustrator's style is a bit old-fashioned and most of the illustrations appear to be set back in the 1950s, and so most of the stories had a little of that tone to them as well. The concept of more than one person writing about the same image would be great for a creative writing class or writers group.
July 16, 2008
Artist Scott Hunt presented nine charcoal drawings to a group of authors who typically write for the young adult audience and asked them to create short stories using his artwork as inspiration. Each of the drawings is paired with two stories from two different authors, and the difference between the stories reveals the uniqueness of each author's vision.
This book really gives you a great taste of the work of authors like Sarah Dessen, Bruce Coville, John Green and M.T. Anderson - just to name a few of the huge talents participating in this project. Topics ranged from sexual abuse to life after death to the strength of hope. I would highly recommend this for readers who'd like to get a feel for these authors' works and to writers and artists who'd like some insight into how inspiration works. At the end of the book, each author gives a brief summary of how they were affected by the pictures and how their stories came about.
This book really gives you a great taste of the work of authors like Sarah Dessen, Bruce Coville, John Green and M.T. Anderson - just to name a few of the huge talents participating in this project. Topics ranged from sexual abuse to life after death to the strength of hope. I would highly recommend this for readers who'd like to get a feel for these authors' works and to writers and artists who'd like some insight into how inspiration works. At the end of the book, each author gives a brief summary of how they were affected by the pictures and how their stories came about.
October 25, 2009
I really liked this concept: an artist sends out some of his original work and comissions authors to write short stories about them - two stories for each picture. I like the idea of art inspiring art.
The stories are, of course, a mixed bag. I think my favorite pairing was "Cake," which is based around a picture of a cake and an axe that are together on a kitchen table.
I was looking at this as a book that I could have my CAP class read, but once again I'd probably get called onto the carpet for some of the themes and words in a few of the stories. I'll probably still recommend it for some of my students though.
Even if I don't have my CAP kids read this book, I'll probably have them try this as a writing excercise and see what we come up with.
The end of the book contains brief statements from the authors about the process. I really liked what they had to say. It makes me want to write - something that I think many readers want sometime or another.
The stories are, of course, a mixed bag. I think my favorite pairing was "Cake," which is based around a picture of a cake and an axe that are together on a kitchen table.
I was looking at this as a book that I could have my CAP class read, but once again I'd probably get called onto the carpet for some of the themes and words in a few of the stories. I'll probably still recommend it for some of my students though.
Even if I don't have my CAP kids read this book, I'll probably have them try this as a writing excercise and see what we come up with.
The end of the book contains brief statements from the authors about the process. I really liked what they had to say. It makes me want to write - something that I think many readers want sometime or another.
June 3, 2015
This book was created by showing two different authors a picture and having them create a story based on that picture. It was so interesting to see the different stories they would come up with when looking at the same picture. The artwork in the book was full of interesting and thought-provoking pictures and that helped to make for some very interesting and thought-provoking short stories. I really enjoyed many of them! I also loved reading through the author's notes at the end for how they went through this process. Their insights about writing these stories were interesting. Some of the stories are a bit intense for me to use with most of my students at the late middle school level, but I am going to find a couple of pairs that work for their level and have them try this themselves in ELA next year!
June 30, 2013
Anthologies are difficult to evaluate because of the diversity, so I won't. I'll just focus on the John Green story for which I got this.
I liked it. It's got a great third-to-the-last paragraph. And I like how his writing is nerdy in its "Actually,-most-frogs-will-jump-out-of-the-boiling-pot-that-lore-is-based-on-an-experiment-where-they-removed-part-of-the-frog's-brain" kind of way. The main character lets the reader in on how things are not quite what they seem, but doesn't say it out loud to the other characters for fear of annoying them.
As for the rest, (OK, I'll try), they each have a redeeming moment or two, which gives it a good, bubbly feel.
I liked it. It's got a great third-to-the-last paragraph. And I like how his writing is nerdy in its "Actually,-most-frogs-will-jump-out-of-the-boiling-pot-that-lore-is-based-on-an-experiment-where-they-removed-part-of-the-frog's-brain" kind of way. The main character lets the reader in on how things are not quite what they seem, but doesn't say it out loud to the other characters for fear of annoying them.
As for the rest, (OK, I'll try), they each have a redeeming moment or two, which gives it a good, bubbly feel.
June 27, 2017
A lot of the stories were great, some were less-than-great. Green's, for example, was so poor that I gave up my attempt to read it. (Anyone else going to talk about the weird commentary on racism from the white guy?)
Similarly, I felt like some stories tried to tackle subjects too big for them-- stuff like toxic masculinity and homophobia. The better ones were short and sweet, like the two about the bear (both of which I loved.)
All in all, most of the stories were good, and I do think if you like this kinda thing you should give it a whirl. It's a very interesting type of book, that's for sure.
Similarly, I felt like some stories tried to tackle subjects too big for them-- stuff like toxic masculinity and homophobia. The better ones were short and sweet, like the two about the bear (both of which I loved.)
All in all, most of the stories were good, and I do think if you like this kinda thing you should give it a whirl. It's a very interesting type of book, that's for sure.
February 11, 2009
While the stories were "okay" (really only two standouts for me) the concept was much more interesting. How do any two individuals approach what they are seeing without any context?
To test this out, our book club members each brought in a photo which was passed around the room. We then wrote a few sentences based around what was in the photo. (As did the authors of the book.) It was a blast to see the similarities in themes and thought patterns that the group had, but also the stark differences. A great activity to accompany this book.
To test this out, our book club members each brought in a photo which was passed around the room. We then wrote a few sentences based around what was in the photo. (As did the authors of the book.) It was a blast to see the similarities in themes and thought patterns that the group had, but also the stark differences. A great activity to accompany this book.
September 12, 2007
Artist Scott Hunt has created this wonderful book of short stories using a technique common to creative writing teachers. He sent original art to some of today's top young adult authors and they have created funny, intriguing, thought-provoking stories from them. Each picture is interpreted by two authors, showing how one image can inspire different points of view. The writing is top notch and each story is a gem.
June 1, 2009
This one would be so fun for a creative writing class. Each of the pictures have something in them that is startling and deserves more than one look. It's purt' near impossible not to create a story around these. I read this book a couple of months ago, and the one picture that stays with me, along with the stories with it, is the one with the elegant chocolate cake sitting pristine on a table in an immaculate kitchen. Next to the cake is a hatchet. I dare you not to shiver reading those.
April 10, 2014
An interesting concept...Scott Hunt asks authors to write on a charcoal drawing- 2 different authors for each drawing. These stories show how differently people see things, and also how one can draw inspiration from art. The charcoal drawings are very interesting and well done- the stories vary. Some are so-so, some are great. They are by well know YA authors such as Neil Shusterman, MT Anderson, and John Green. A great collection.
January 6, 2009
I bought this primarily because of John Green's short story, but when I recieved it, I found that so many fantastic writers had stories in it, like Nancy Werlin, M.T. Anderson (My latest literary crush; he's adorable) David Lubar, and Sarah Dessen. I loved the premise; that pairs of authors are each given one picture and must write a story about it. I think a second volume would be a neat idea.
August 2, 2010
Really enjoyed this book of short stories, all written by well-known ya authors. Twist is that each story is inspired by original art work, the first story is written from a smaller image of the art piece, the second story written from the full image. Stories range from funny to a bit bizarre (Shusterman's for example). But even without the art, stories are good.
September 3, 2011
Cool concept. An artist created original pictures and gave each one to two authors. Each author creats a short story based on the picture he/she received. Very varied. I liked some stories much better than others. A few of the illustrations were cool and interesting, but I found many of them quite bland.
abandoned
February 25, 2013I enjoyed the first handful of stories--this is a neat concept for a book. But then I started to read a story that was really disturbing (about a little boy who is sexually molested) and I really lost enthusiasm for this book. The stories are just too random for me to spend the time reading them, quite frankly.
July 20, 2015
Guys, this is a little treasure. It's beautiful. I did not think that every story was AMAZING but every story fit perfectly. I loved it. It is a must read. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful <3
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June 1, 2013
A book of short stories written by YA authors inspired by drawings made by Scott Hunt. Each drawing had two different stories and it was interesting to see what inspired the authors. In the back, each author talks a little about their process.
June 27, 2015
A collection of short stories based on original artwork - very neat idea, and I was happily surprised that I didn't really not like any of the stories. Some were creepy, some were cute, but all fantastically written.
December 5, 2017
Based on nine drawings by the author Scott Hunt; writers such as William Sleator and Margaret Peterson Haddix along with other famous writers develop interesting stories to go along with the artwork. Great idea for a book. Enjoyed a few stories!
July 14, 2007
Very interesting collection of short stories. I especially liked Sarah Dessen's, among others. It was interesting to see the different interpretations of the drawings.
January 22, 2008
There is some good stuff in here, nothing terribly amazing unfortunately. I love this concept though! I want to see it done with different art media.
Grade: B+
Grade: B+
April 26, 2008
Cool concept that makes for interesting stories. Loved the part at the back of the book where each author explained a little bit about why they wrote their story the way that they did.
Want to read
May 10, 2008JOHN GREEN!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews