The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories, by Tim Burton
William Morrow & Co., 1997
If you've seen the movies "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Beetlejuice", and "Edward Scissorhands", you'll know that Tim Burton is not your average storyteller. These poems seem to come from the nightmares of children, but have been retold in a way that takes the scariness out of them.
Each of Burton's poems/stories -- ranging in size from four lines to 21 pages -- focuses on a misfit child from a fantasy world. There is the brief tale of "The Boy With Nails in His Eyes" putting up his Christmas tree: It looked really strange / because he couldn't really see.
Also, "The Girl Who Stared": She'd stare at the ground / she'd stare at the sky / She'd stare at you for hours / and you'd never know why.
And I can't forget "Stain Boy", a lovable little superhero who just can't stay clean: He can't fly around tall buildings, / or outrun a speeding train, / the only talent he seems to have / is to leave a nasty stain.
This is an exciting and delightful collection that will probably repulse you a little, while making you laugh and touching your heart with a cast of extremely lovable and sympathetic (if a little bizarre and eccentric) children.
