[.ca] The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (ISBN 0064438171)

From Amazon.com:
William Joyce's previous children's books, especially Dinosaur Bob and A Day With Wilbur Robinson, have delighted kid-kids and grown-up-kids alike with their strange, stylish illustrations and their slightly warped sensibility. In his latest book, The Leaf Men, things get even stranger, as the reader is plunged into the teeming mysterious world of an old woman's garden. When the old lady falls ill, and her garden falls into disorder, the mythical Leaf Men must be called upon to vanquish the evil Spider Queen and return things to order. Arachnid rights groups may quarrel with the choice of the spider as the villainess, but just about everyone else will marvel at Joyce's invention and his weird, detailed paintings.

When you want a fairy tale but are sick of fairy tales:
This is a quirky book, but a fun one. It's a mystical fairy tale with a garden setting (the main characters are bugs) and an Art Deco aesthetic. An old lady falls ill. Her garden falls ill, too, as there is no one to care for it. The garden's bugs rally together. They've heard stories of the magical, mystical Leaf Men who will come to a garden's aid if properly summoned. A proper summons requires a dangerous journey to the tree tops on a moonlit night. The brave doodle bugs go for it. The evil Spider Queen and her goblins try to thwart them. It's good stuff. There is also a sweet, sentimental subplot with an old toy. The book is recommended for the 4-8 year-old crowd, but my 2 1/2 year-old loves it. I had to edit some of the text at first, however, as it is on the long side for toddlers. I also edit the gruesome death of the Spider Queen. The story covers a lot of territory in a short amount of time, so the characters are rather one-dimensional and the story ends up with a few holes. Nevertheless, the story is told so stylishly and the illustrations are so unusual and dramatic that you forgive the short-comings. It's a great book to read when you want a fairy tale but are sick of fairy tales.

Tiny of body, but brave of heart........:
As a child, did you ever look for hidden treasures in your backyard? Well, this is a story about the magic of backyards and gardens. Two words describe this book--magical and mystical. My son loves this book because it combines his love of insects and superheroes. This is a wonderful story to read aloud to children and seems to really spark their imaginations. The illustrations are imaginative and unique. It is a favorite book at our house!

The Leaf Men:
I am 45 yrs old and have been reading this and many other Willam Joyce titles to my children. The illustrations are facinating to children and adults alike. This is my favorite Willam Joyce book. I still read it and laugh and cry. Oh those doodle bugs are so brave. There is so much to ponder while reading this book, it will open your imagination to a whole new look at the garden, ageing, and being the smallest one in the class. It will make you feel.

Leaf Men will steal your heart!:
The Leaf Men is an endearing story about how even the littlest of us can do good in the world to make other people happy. The moment you start reading William Joyce's children's books, you feel like you're a little kid again being read to by your parent... that feeling that you're being told a grand story and are about to be taken on an adventure. There are stories written between the lines that aren't even explained, but are left to your imagination which is really lovely. William's illustrations are marvelous... one of my favourite children's book illustrators, I particularly love his 'new nostalgic' style, mixing vintage colours with modern stylization of the characters. And most of all, I love his stories because they make me cry each time I read them.

It works upon the mind as the great myths:
Nevermind reading this to children: *I* read it. Here is a tale of mytheopic properties -- the Long-Lost Toy, the treasured rosebush grown sickly, the old woman, wound about, and bound to these treasured things of her youth, a precarious lifeline; and here too, those brave little bugs, the Doodle Guild, full of virtue and honour, who would give their very lives for a woman, and think nothing of it; and alas! too, the wicked Spider Queen, "enclosed in her own fat," who would devour her prey, and think not of it, and hath not mercy, nor kindness; and, when all is hopeless: the storm is stilled, the air is grown quiet, and lo! the Leaf Men of old, them whom Memory would forget. This tale is at once set upon the mind, and there it will stay for quite some time after the book is set down. I highly recomend it.