Ten Thousand Stories: An Ever-Changing Tale of Tragic Happenings

by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr (Illustrator)

Overview

A new story unfolds with every turn of a flap in this playful jigsaw puzzle of a book. Every page is divided into four turnable mini-pages that mix and match to create 10,000 different story combinations, each with its own quirky watercolor illustration. Some stories make sense, some come out downright surreal, and each one is as irreverently imaginative as the next. When will Michael find true love? What was it that pushed Elmo over the edge? Ten Thousand Stories lets the reader piece together each hilarious, gripping, or tragic tale. Part Exquisite Corpse and part Choose Your Own Disaster, this offbeat treasure is an addictive pleasure to play alone or to share.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452114071
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr are the husband-and-wife team behind Idiots' Books, a small press based in an old barn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

09/09/2013
The problem with many graphic novels is not lack of quality but quantity; in short, they’re far too short. Readers will not complain about the brevity of this whimsical curiosity of a story machine, from the writer/illustrator couple Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr (who run the small press Idiots’ Books). Each page of the wirebound book is divided into four punchy horizontal panels, with text on the left and drawings on the right, which readers can then mix and match for endless variations. The book is made up of 10 morbidly funny stories about eccentrics (“The Puzzling Habits of Eccentric Messiahs,” “The Intoxicating Thrill of Combative Lovers”) who all seem to end up somewhere unfortunate. Behr’s illustrations have a scratchy, just-fallen-out-of-bed, Ralph Steadman quality, while Swanson’s stories are vividly episodic that isn’t damaged by the inherent randomization. For those who lack a partner with whom to play Exquisite Corpse, this book will pass the time just fine. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The book is made up of 10 morbidly funny stories about eccentrics ('The Puzzling Habits of Eccentric Messiahs,' 'The Intoxicating Thrill of Combative Lovers') who all seem to end up somewhere unfortunate. Behr's illustrations have a scratchy, just-fallen-out-of-bed, Ralph Steadman quality, while Swanson's stories are vividly episodic that isn't damaged by the inherent randomization." - PublishersWeekly.com

"The book is made up of 10 morbidly funny stories about eccentrics ('The Puzzling Habits of Eccentric Messiahs,' 'The Intoxicating Thrill of Combative Lovers') who all seem to end up somewhere unfortunate. Behr's illustrations have a scratchy, just-fallen-out-of-bed, Ralph Steadman quality, while Swanson's stories are vividly episodic that isn't damaged by the inherent randomization." - PublishersWeekly.com

"The book is made up of 10 morbidly funny stories about eccentrics ('The Puzzling Habits of Eccentric Messiahs,' 'The Intoxicating Thrill of Combative Lovers') who all seem to end up somewhere unfortunate. Behr's illustrations have a scratchy, just-fallen-out-of-bed, Ralph Steadman quality, while Swanson's stories are vividly episodic that isn't damaged by the inherent randomization." - PublishersWeekly.com

"Just the titles [of the ten basic stories] suggest their frisky, dadaist quality: 'The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke,' 'The Exquisite Torment of Maternal Deception,' 'The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock,' 'The Temporary Blessings of Suggestive Lederhosen' as well as six others equally unsettling. All of them relate tales of desperate yearning, lost hopes, sexual transgression and broken hearts and bodies. This same slightly macabre Edward Gorey/Lemony Snicket style comes through in the new narratives that result by haphazardly shuffling the strips.... What draws me to the various books of Swanson and Behr - there are more than 50 - is their never-ending exuberance and flair for mischief." - Michael Dirda, the Washington Post

"Just the titles [of the ten basic stories] suggest their frisky, dadaist quality: 'The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke,' 'The Exquisite Torment of Maternal Deception,' 'The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock,' 'The Temporary Blessings of Suggestive Lederhosen' as well as six others equally unsettling. All of them relate tales of desperate yearning, lost hopes, sexual transgression and broken hearts and bodies. This same slightly macabre Edward Gorey/Lemony Snicket style comes through in the new narratives that result by haphazardly shuffling the strips.... What draws me to the various books of Swanson and Behr - there are more than 50 - is their never-ending exuberance and flair for mischief." - Michael Dirda, the Washington Post

"Just the titles [of the ten basic stories] suggest their frisky, dadaist quality: 'The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke,' 'The Exquisite Torment of Maternal Deception,' 'The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock,' 'The Temporary Blessings of Suggestive Lederhosen' as well as six others equally unsettling. All of them relate tales of desperate yearning, lost hopes, sexual transgression and broken hearts and bodies. This same slightly macabre Edward Gorey/Lemony Snicket style comes through in the new narratives that result by haphazardly shuffling the strips.... What draws me to the various books of Swanson and Behr - there are more than 50 - is their never-ending exuberance and flair for mischief." - Michael Dirda, the Washington Post

"Ten Thousand Stories takes ten sordid short, short stories illustrated with depraved misfits and then horizontally divvies up all the pages into quarters, giving readers the chance to create 10,000 unique stories and accompanying illustrations. With just a few flips of the pages, tales like "The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke" and "The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock" become "The Tragic Habits of Eccentric Messiahs." The authors have done a great job keeping everything lively without anything coming off like a gimmick." - Imprint

"Ten Thousand Stories takes ten sordid short, short stories illustrated with depraved misfits and then horizontally divvies up all the pages into quarters, giving readers the chance to create 10,000 unique stories and accompanying illustrations. With just a few flips of the pages, tales like "The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke" and "The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock" become "The Tragic Habits of Eccentric Messiahs." The authors have done a great job keeping everything lively without anything coming off like a gimmick." - Imprint

"Ten Thousand Stories takes ten sordid short, short stories illustrated with depraved misfits and then horizontally divvies up all the pages into quarters, giving readers the chance to create 10,000 unique stories and accompanying illustrations. With just a few flips of the pages, tales like "The Sordid Aftermath of Drunken Karaoke" and "The Uncanny Allure of Cheerful Livestock" become "The Tragic Habits of Eccentric Messiahs." The authors have done a great job keeping everything lively without anything coming off like a gimmick." - Imprint

From the Publisher