Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids

Little Lit #2

by Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly (Illustrator)

The second groundbreaking anthology from the "New York Times" best-selling team of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly is here The everyday world is turned upside down and the ordinary becomes extraordinary in this collection of the strangest tales. From Art Spiegelman's "The Several Lives of Selby Sheldrake" to Maurice Sendak's "Cereal Baby Keller "to Jules Feiffer's "Trapped in a Comic Book," these stories are sure to entice any young reader. Also included are comics and features by Ian Falconer and David Sedaris, Paul Auster and Jacques de Loustal, Crockett Johnson, Richard McGuire, and Barbara McClintock, a puzzle by Lewis Trondheim, and make-your-own comic-book endpapers from Kaz. "Little Lit Strange Stories for Strange Kids "continues the tradition of bringing the pleasure of books and reading into the hands and minds of kids.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Humor

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Art Spiegelman is an American cartoonist, editor, and cultural innovator whose work has profoundly influenced the perception of comics as a legitimate art form, blending literary sophistication with experimental visual storytelling. Emerging from the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Spiegelman quickly distinguished himself with a distinctive approach that combined meticulous craftsmanship, psychological insight, and narrative complexity, challenging conventions of sequential art and the boundaries between personal memoir and historical record. He co-founded the landmark anthology Raw with his wife, Françoise Mouly, which became a platform for cutting-edge, avant-garde cartoonists from around the world, blending surrealist imagery, literary experimentation, and bold visual ideas that redefined the possibilities of the medium. Spiegelman is best known for his groundbreaking graphic novel Maus, a haunting, deeply personal depiction of his father’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor, which used anthropomorphic characters to explore trauma, memory, and identity with unprecedented depth; the work earned a Special Pulitzer Prize and established Spiegelman as a central figure in both literary and visual culture. Beyond Maus, he has contributed influential cartoons and covers to The New Yorker, including the iconic 9/11 cover, demonstrating his ability to communicate complex emotional and cultural truths with economy and symbolic resonance. His artistic sensibility reflects influences from early twentieth-century cartoonists, modernist design, typography, and the visual language of newspapers and advertising, while also incorporating pop culture, surrealism, and abstraction. Spiegelman has consistently experimented with the interplay of image and text, treating comics as a medium that mirrors cognitive processes of memory, perception, and emotional experience. In addition to his creative output, he has curated exhibitions, edited anthologies, and published critical essays on comics history and theory, advocating for the recognition of the medium as serious art and mentoring generations of cartoonists. He has also worked in graphic design, creating posters, album covers, and commemorative stamps, and his visual interventions often reflect his interest in narrative structure, cultural commentary, and the power of imagery to shape public understanding. Throughout his career, Spiegelman has been a vocal advocate for freedom of expression and a critic of censorship, engaging in public discourse on political and social issues, and demonstrating how comics can address profound ethical and historical questions. His pioneering work, editorial vision, and relentless innovation have transformed both the aesthetics and the intellectual reception of comics, proving that the medium can handle grief, history, and identity with sophistication, subtlety, and emotional resonance. Spiegelman’s legacy is evident in the work of contemporary graphic novelists and in the broader cultural recognition of comics as an art form capable of exploring human experience, social commentary, and the complexities of memory and trauma, making him one of the most influential figures in modern visual storytelling.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful collection of fun stories, amazingly beautiful illustrations and some search & find pages that I failed to complete. Doh!

[Steven Gauthier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic volume brings together short bits for me and strange kids from Art Spiegelman, Maurice Sendak, Jules Feiffer, Crockett Johnson, Posy Simmonds (god, I love Posy), Charles Burns, and a bunch of others. These are appetizers: none of the stories are really wholly satisfying but hopefully will create hunger in readers to find more from these fine artists and authors.

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess apropos to the title of this book, this has got to be one of the strangest collections of stories I have ever read as a kid. For the past two weeks or so, I have been thinking about this book (that I likely read well over ten years ago) and couldn't figure out the title. Well, here it is! The least I can say about it is that it intrigued me something fierce as a kid.

[RH Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a strange kid. She’s fascinated with the story of the monster girl who accidentally freezes her face into a pretty one and makes herself beautiful again by turning her skull inside out. I’m fascinated with the story about a previous superior race of cats.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little collection that pretends to be a children's collection of illustrated stories -- and is.

[Nick Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Super crazy weird fun. The absolute best of the Little Lit series

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as dark as the first one.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers will delight in these short and humorous cartoons by popular authors and illustrators.

[Aili · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely anthology of art by lots of really famous folks -- many of them famous for excellent reasons. This book is real purty. It's also neat to see non-comics folks like Paul Auster and David Sedaris try their hand at working with artists and telling a story visually, and to discover the gorgeous work of several underground, foreign (non-U.S.) artists.

Unfortunately the book isn't really sure what it is. The stories and activity pages are very narratively and thematically simple (in contrast to the very polished art) and thus are designed to appeal more to kids than to adults. But (and of course I am an adult) though I was gently amused by the stories, I wasn't enthralled enough by any individual story to want to read it over and over. (The story that most stuck with me is Paul Auster's -- it's about a man who dissociates -- and it was truly creepy and dealt with very adult themes. More of that, please!)

But the book isn't really for kids either -- the classy printing and binding and high price tag ($20) mean that parents may want to keep this high up on the shelf where it can't be scribbled in. I can't really see someone handing this to their child, with a magic marker, and saying "OK, find all the hidden objects!" I had lots of Tintin and Asterix and Donald Duck comics when I was a kid, and my brother and I read them so many times they were physically destroyed (we are still finding loose pages of Tintin and the Shooting Star in the attic). This book is too goshdarn nice, by too many nice famous adults, to let a kid destroy.

If Art Spiegelman really wants to make this project work, he could invite swanky famous non-comics people to write short stories for adults and collect those; OR he could invite swanky famous people to write stories for children on a monthly basis, print them on crappy paper, and sell them for $4.95. I suppose he could then collect the best and repackage those for $20. But right now the series is neither here nor there.

[Juliana Muñoz Toro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro tiene varias capas.
En la historia de Spiegelman (que además compiló las historias y es el autor de Maus), la primera capa es cómica: a un niño se le salen sus otros yo. Y esta idea del 'doble' es llevada al límite. Son muchos yo, es cómico pero también trágico. Hay yo que no nos imaginamos, como la muerte, como el yo que no es yo, etc. Y la mirada sobre el adulto. El adulto no es perfecto, en su soledad también tiene sus personalidades múltiples, sus dilemas.
Por la misma línea de llevar todo al límite, Sendal crea a un niño glotón. Y el niño se lo come todo, hasta a sus padres. La historia nos engancha porque siempre todo puede ser peor y peor, o el caos puede ser siempre mayor y mayor.
Pretty Ugly, de Falconer y Sedaris es el cambio de valores morales. Un mundo donde lo malo es lo bueno, lo feo es lo bonito y lo bonito es lo feo. Donde además se juega con la literaridad de esas frases que siempre nos han dicho: la belleza está en el interior, por tanto saco mis entrañas para ver la belleza.
En la pequeña casa que huyó de casa, lo que no pensamos que podría ser personaje, o tener una forma, lo es y la tiene: una casa, los ruidos (un niño besado en la mejilla, la escalera rechinando, la leche vertida en un bowl) y sonidos que dan placer o disgusto. Personajes buenísimos como el cazador de sonidos felices.
Otra historia que amé fue la de A-maze-ing adventure, de Lewis Trondheim, en la que nosotros elegimos lo que le puede ir pasando al personaje. Es una historia de aventura interactiva (puesta sobre papel!) que tiene una capa más profunda: el fatídico destino.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2. Little Lit Strange Stories for Strange Kids comprised by Art Spiegelman & Francoise Mouly
No Awards
Grade Level: 5+
Strange Stories for Strange Kids is a graphic novel filled with various weird stories for kids to read. There are fifteen different stories for students to read. Each story is weird and funny to keep students interested in learning.
Strange Stories for Strange Kids can be slightly difficult to read at times because of the strange font that some of the stories have- particularly “Trapped in a Comic Book”. This book is good for introducing students to a variety of stories.
This book could be used in classrooms to show students that not all books have to be serious, they can be fun. This book can also get students who may not be interested in the “usual” books to read and even to write. This graphic novel (or a section) could be read and then in writers workshop students could write their own graphic novel.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many art styles by many critically-acclaimed 'underground' authors -- Kim Deitsch, Art Speigelman, Jules Feiffer, Crockett Johnson... what, were Robert Crumb and Bill Griffiths unavailable? A few duds, but 90% of the book was an enjoyable page-turner for my kids and I both. Lots of visual inspiration (layout and storytelling) here as well, especially in the story about 'Katropolis.' Nary a work which my 8 y.o. didn't 'get.' As fun to read aloud and cuddle behind as to enjoy silently and independently. Terrific, fun book.

[Josephus FromPlacitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful comics, amazing art, kid or grown-up you can lose yourself completely in the huge, ornate images by brilliant artists. One thing to review before giving it to a little kid might be to decide whether some of the more intense and grotesque images will jive well with your little brain-voyager's personality. Not that kids can't or shouldn't handle weirdness, but it's worth feeling out beforehand.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this for my three year old and seven year old as their Father's Day present from me. Fantastic entree for the under-ten set to graphic novels and some surprising appearances by some authors and illustrators familiar to that crowd.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because I recognized a couple of the names attached to it. I'm sure some people would appreciate it, but I didn't. There are 15 comics in this anthology all with different authors/illustrators. Some are better/more clever than others.

[Salsabrarian]

16 comic strip stories by various artists such as Maurice Sendak (Cereal Baby Keller), Martin Handford (Roody Hooster), Crockett Johnson (Barnaby), Jules Feiffer (Trapped in a Comic Book). Sublime to whimsical to weird!

[Emelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Little Lit book EVER!

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funky stories by graphic novel artists. awesome.

[Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best one out of the three books.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It has some offbeat stories and the illustrations are great. I still find my kids reading it sometimes even though they are older. Comic book fans will enjoy this book.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, strange, not my favorite, but interesting and quirky

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I especially enjoyed the "comics" where you had to find different objects in them. :)