From 1974-1982, my family lived in New Hamburg, Ontario, a short drive away from Stratford, home of the Stratford Festival. We would occasionally drive there, picking up a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken that we’d eat in the park near the Festival Theatre. It was peaceful and idyllic.
Startford is also the home of Emily Carroll, graphic artist and author of Through the Woods,
a collection of five mysterious and eerily chilling graphic short stories. If you read my blog, you know that I generally avoid books like this. I read this at 5 this morning so it wouldn’t disturb my sleep tonight. What I like a out these stories is the way the words and pictures work together to scare the bejeebers out of you. The language is sparse, but poetic. The artwork relies heavily on black and red. Your imagination does the rest.
The five stories in this collection tap into visceral fears kids (and adults, for that matter) have about being in the woods. Alone. In several stories, characters don’t heed words of warning. As a reader, you tell them not to go into the woods, but still, they do it. And the consequences are dire.These macabre tales feel very much like old stories the Grimm brothers might have collected. As such, you can make some decent predictions about what will happen, but it is the way the stories are told that make this book so amazing.
So, the next time someone tells you not to do something, take heed.
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