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| The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | 
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| Author: Washington Irving
Creator: Gris Grimly
Publisher: Atheneum
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $7.51
You Save: $9.48 (56%)
New (33) Used (10) from $7.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 36803
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 40
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 11 x 7.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 1416906258
EAN: 9781416906254
ASIN: 1416906258
Publication Date: August 7, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: May have remainder mark. Prompt service. Quality product. Please compare feedback.
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Product Description
Are all the lights on?Is there a parent in the house? Are the windows shut and locked? Double-check! They HAVE to be if you are going to read this book, which is undoubtedly the scariest rendition of one of the greatest ghost stories ever told: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. While you may have heard of Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, and the Headless Horseman, you've never SEEN them quite like this -- through the macabre imagination of the inimitable Gris Grimly. So, take a deep breath and take a long look. And you may want to bring a flashlight to bed with you tonight....
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 You can't reason with a headless man October 29, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
You ever get that feeling where a book comes out and your immediate reaction is, "WELL, IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME!"? I tend to get this feeling only about books that it never would have occurred to me to hope for. A kid-friendly version of "Sleepy Hollow"? It seems self-evident when you say it like that, but I don't prowl the stacks of my library looking for classics to freshen up. I leave that sort of thing to the professionals. Professionals going by pseudonyms like, "Gris Grimly" and the like. What we have here in our possession is a tidy little item with a certain panache and flair. Faithful to the original text (albeit with judicious cutting and abridgement here and there) Grimly brings Irving's story to macabre life right before our eyes. Any book that has the wherewithal to introduce a classic tale to kids in a manner that they will not only understand but also seek out voluntarily should be considered in full. In Mr. Grimly we've real kid-sensibilities alongside some good old-fashioned storytelling horrors. Mr. Irving would be so pleased.
At the risk of sounding trite, you all know the story of "Sleepy Hollow" do you not? No, not the Tim Burton movie, sillies. This is the tale of the schoolteacher Ichabod Crane who, in spite of his innate goofiness and gall, was apparently the most desirable schoolteacher this side of the Mississippi. Sure, he looked like a "scarecrow eloped from a cornfield," but in a town as small as Sleepy Hollow, any fellow with even a scant bit of intellectualism about him is worth checking out. But Ichabod doesn't set his sights on just anyone. Oh no. He's impressed with only the richest girl in the county, Katrina Van Tassel. Unfortunately for him, she is currently being wooed by the local county swain Brom Van Brunt a.k.a. Brom Bones. Ichabod is keen for the challenge however, and after being invited to a dance at the Van Tassel manor it looks as if all his hopes and dreams might come true. After a possible rejection, however, the naturally superstitious teacher finds himself going home, alone, from the party. It is then that he runs across the notorious supernatural figure that all the county discusses: The Headless Horseman. Whether the horseman truly does spirit away the teacher or whether Ichabod merely flees Sleepy Hollow for good is not known. What people do know, though, is that all that remains is his hat and a shattered pumpkin along the side of a brook.
As a kid, I was always mildly baffled that Ichabod was not supposed to be the hero of his own story. If you've watched the Disney version of the tale (and I'll get to that later) then Brom Bones comes off as a bit of a jerk. This feeling isn't alleviated any by Grimly's adaptation, but it makes for an interesting change of pace from those other tales of rivals in love. In terms of the story itself, there is much here that a kid will incline towards. It's rare to find a title for kids where the protagonist is A) human and B) and adult. Nigh unto impossible, almost. Still, Ichabod with all his flaws and greed is a quintessentially American figure. I'm a little shocked no one's ever updated him into a contemporary book or movie. Talk about ripe pickings.
Some will write off the book as just another graphic novel, which is not entirely unwarranted, but also not entirely fair. I mean, what is it about this book that strikes you as comic booky? There aren't any word balloons or snatches of dialogue. There are panels, however, and often they will display action sequences in a linear fashion. Just the same, I think that it's safe to say that this book falls squarely into the category of "indefinable entity". It's maybe best described merely as an "illustrated novel", and nothing more.
But really, the art is what makes it more than just a visual adaptation. On examining this book closer I found that often the lines on a character's mouth would often extend far beyond the limits of their own face. If Ichabod smiles, for example, them the line of his smile carries on long after the flesh has ceased. At first I mistook this for some kind of moustache or facial hair, but then I found that everyone (except possibly Katrina) suffers the same technique. It's interesting to consider. Does it indicate an extreme emotion or does it merely give one character or another a bit of visual pizzazz? Gris Grimly isn't known for his sexy females (though Bella of the book "Boris and Bella comes close) so it's interesting to see him work his magic on the character of Katrina. She's all delicately lowered eyelids and curves. Grimly's style in this book is restrained, it seems, and it plumbs the inner recesses of the "Sleepy Hollow" tale for all the humor it's worth. It's not a bad idea, really. When Ichabod cuts a rug you've never seen a more ridiculous sight. For finding the funny in both the implied and the obvious, Grimly pairs nicely with Irving's fabulous text.
Let's admit something together right now. A certain strain of American has probably seen the Disney version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at least once in their lives. As such, certain images and phrases from this book have a hard time separating themselves from that oddly faithful (just our luck) adaptation of the tale. Certain sentences in this book float through our mental ears to the sonorous tones of Bing Crosby. For the most part, Grimly does what he can to separate himself from Disney's version, and as far as I can tell he only comes close to a direct reference once. That would be the moment where, in the midst of trying to escape the headless horseman, Ichabod briefly finds himself doing the running with his horse sitting on his back. Classic slapstick stuff, sure. Maybe too classic
Flaw: I read a few pages of this book then proceeded to stare at the cover intently for a good fifteen to thirty seconds sans blinking. I did this because I was convinced that the word "Abridged" was lurking somewhere in plain sight and I was just too thick to see it. Bemused by my inability to find it, I flipped to the title page. Nothing. The back bookflap? Nada. The front bookflap. Nothing a thi . . . . wait! Wait wait, I spoke too soon! What's that teensy tiny itty bitty l'il nuthin' of a sentence down there? That little snippet lurking beneath the description of the story? (removes magnifying glass from purse and peers closely) Ah. I see now. It says, "Be forewarned: The text has been slightly condensed for maximum fright." Knowing, as we do, the frequency with which such bookflaps get lost, perhaps the book beneath the jacket says the same thing. Yeah, no such luck. So basically, you're going to get a lot of confused parents who don't know their Washington Irving very well and will be more than happy to think that this is the complete story. Or, more likely, you'll end up with a lot of fast-moving teenagers who have been told to read the tale for their autumnal English class and can't see why this book isn't the original story since even the publication page is absent of any warnings or notations. BAD, Atheneum, BAD! You did a killer job on the bookjacket (I'm loving the faux binding peering out along the spine and the buckled "leather") but when your author abridges something you need to let us know with big flashy lights. Seriously, now.
I anticipate so many kids falling under the thrall of this book that their parents seek out Irving's original tale just to slake their headless horseman thirst for more. And anything that gets the kiddies reading real honest-to-goodness Washington Irving will have to be seen, even by the most jaded critics, as a good thing. Putting aside the question of whether or not the book should have been more forthcoming in the whole "is it abridged?" area of affairs, this is a great title and one that deserves a place in every library far and wide. Classy and keen. A keeper, if ever there was one.
Beautifully Illustrated oldie December 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The beautiful and haunting illustrations of edition of an old tale really add to the story.
 Can there be negative stars...? January 14, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Whoever gives Irving's "The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" more than one star is just strange. I have not read a more boring or a more pointless story in my life. With themes that require the reader to do tedious research and style that just bores the reader out, I do not advise anyone to read such a horrible story--unless your public library is out of books.
With elongated descriptions and a motionless plot, this short story that would take half an hour to read can take you four hours to comprehend, and when you do finish it (that's if you don't fall asleep in your chair), you will wish time machines existed! Talking about two men's attempts to win over the coquette Katrina Von Tassel, this book attempts to entice the reader but immediately fails to do so when the style kicks in. The page-long references to the lazy town, as well as the redundant descriptions of the characters just discourage the reader from finishing. Set in the sleepy town of, well, Sleepy Hollow, one already asks, why not already choose a happier place for such a romantic story to take place?
The storyline is also a bit disappointing considering all the hail and praise I have heard about this "classic." Ichabod is a schoolteacher who tries to court Katrina but is faced with another suitor--the strong and muscular Brom Bones. To be fair, the most exciting part of the short story is when the legendary Headless Horseman, who many believe might be Brom, chases Ichabod after a Dutch party where the guests engaged in lengthy story telling. To our disappointment, both characters disappear and never return.
The ending is ambiguous as the reader is left to wonder, did the Headless Horseman kill Ichabod? What is the point of having such a character as the Headless Horseman or Ichabod if they will both disappear? If you feel like answering any of these questions, feel free to use your researching skills.
On the positive note, many elements of Dark Romanticism found throughout the plot attempt to entice the reader's morbid curiosity. We see the supernatural Headless Horseman who wanders in graveyards; we see the morbid ending of two major characters; and we see the desolate and isolate setting of the town.
Overall, this book is not that enticing at all. The themes are very subtle and require either close attention or quite a bit of research, both requiring you to waste some precious time that you might, well, enjoy going to the movies with some friends.
 Decent, but a little boring January 19, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
First and foremost, as a child, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as portrayed by Walt Disney movies, was a rather light and goofy film, having humorous moments even reaching to the end when Ichabod is running away from the headless horseman, he can be seen running with the horse on his back! Oh and just as a general forewarning, the original story is entirely unlike that of the movie, as it plays on the readers' terror which can be attributed to Washington Irving's use of Gothic elements.
Anyways, the original was not that lighthearted nor that funny. Rather it focuses on a love triangle between Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, and the wealthy Katrina Von Tassel. Set in the dreamy town of sleepy hollow, where imaginations do come to life, this setting makes for the perfect environment to tell their stories and foreshadow the ending. Where Brom Bones, after a series of failed attempts to discourage Ichabod to marry Katrina, he implants the story of the legendary Hessian knight. Bones relies on Ichabod's sensitivity to the paranormal to make him imagine the Horseman. Unlike the Disney movie, who portrays Ichabod as the protagonist and Brom Bones as the antagonist and a jerk, the original one is vice versa, telling a classic tale of city man versus a country man for a hand in marriage. It stays consistent with this theme, as it seems the country man would come out on top in the end.
However, besides that, though the story implies that Brom Bones was the headless knight, the rest is left up to the readers to determine the true whereabouts of Ichabod. This open-ended story may also be Irving's way to in essence "save the city man" from the country. Although it is implied that he dies, if a reader speculates more optimistically, he simply could have just left the town, which was unfit for him right from the beginning.
Overall, I found this book to be rather listless with minimal plot development. All Irving throughout the entire book is set up for the ending, making Ichabod seem like an outcast and extremely in tune with nature, having the town be in a dream-like state, and Ichabod's purely greedy motives. They all serve to build up to the finale. However, Irving drags on much too long with his abundance of imagery; the ending was nothing spectacular.
Legend of Sleepy Hollow February 10, 2008
I purchased this book along with several others along the same vane for my Grand Daughters. age 2 and 4 to eventually enjoy as I know they will. I am their Gran Pa and are really looking forward to reading it to them when they are old enough. Great illustrations which go great with a twist of the tale....
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