Instructions.
Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
Harper Collins, 2010.
ISBN: 0061960306

In 2000, Neil Gaiman published "Instructions,"a poem about how to survive a fairy tale in the book A Wolf at the Door, published by Simon & Schuster. Gaiman has recently joined with Charles Vess to create a delightful illustrated version of the poem in the children's book Instructions. Vess and Gaiman have collaborated extremely successfully before, most notably in Gaiman's Sandman #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," (written by Gaiman and illustrated by Vess) which won a World Fantasy Award in 1991. Subsequently, Charles Vess and Neil Gaiman collaborated on Gaiman's Stardust and the children's book Blueberry Girl.

Instructions is primarily a children's picture book, but it's also a beautifully illustrated and creative exploration of the nature of fairy tales, and I notice that adults seem to find it just as delightful as children do. The best way to get an idea about just how charming, and whimsical (and beautiful) the book is, is to watch the book trailer. You really do need to see it—it's a wider than usual video, or I'd embed it here. Instead, I've embedded a video of Gaiman reading Instructions. The Harper Collins link below lets you browse inside Instructions.