CAUTIONARY TALES FOR CHILDREN

Typically deadpan, previously unpublished scenes of Victorian ladies, gents, and children decorate seven of Belloc’s savage little ditties, including “Henry King, Who Chewed Bits Of String, And Was Early Cut Off In Dreadful Agonies,” “Jim, Who Ran Away From His Nurse, And Was Eaten By A Lion,” and the ever-popular “Matilda, Who Told Lies, And Was Burned To Death.” Stretching the stories across several pages of illustration (as many as 12 in some cases) allows the full effect of Gorey’s macabre wit to sink in and the timing for a reappearance of Belloc’s irreverent warnings couldn’t be more perfect. Gorey gets credit for “re-discovering” these early 20th-century verses, but they have appeared previously in several collections or single editions. Still, his gothic sensibility made him the perfect illustrator for them, and Lemony Snicket fans will undoubtedly swoon with delight. (Poetry. 9-11)