Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle
by Joseph Coelho; illus. by various artists
Intermediate    Walker US/Candlewick    56 pp.
9/23    9781536231359    $18.99

Illustrated by twenty-one accomplished artists from around the globe, each of the twenty “tiny tales” gives the reader just enough in word and picture to generate curiosity and discussion. Thea Lu illustrates the prompt “the x-rays reveal writing etched onto all of my bones” with an image of someone carrying an x-ray and holding a casted arm in a sling. Look closely at the x-ray to see that each bone is shown with an expiration date. Does that January 14, 2030, date signify the person’s death? Shaun Tan’s beautifully creepy painting centers an enormous human skull, sitting in a farmyard. A ladder leans against the skull, and a relatively diminutive human, on hands and knees, paints adornments on it: “Every year they honored their son by decorating his skull.” Why is the skull so much larger than the humans? Do the window curtains suggest that the people live inside? Do the decorations mean anything? What happened? Coelho’s extensive afterword suggests ways for young writers and artists to build on the stories. Like Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, this is a book for older children to pore over and let their imaginations flower. With twenty-one different illustrators representing many styles, media, and settings, each of the spreads stands apart so viewers can concentrate on a single page or read the book through for a disquieting experience.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.