Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

The beginnings of 'real' homegrown American literature, 11 Mar 2003
I don't think many people will want to read this book for fun, although, as something to dip into - perhaps in the spirit of its original publication, as a periodical in monthly chunks - it could be just about amusing. Some readers may be interested in Irving as a forerunner of other American writers, or perhaps in what this book has to say about the relationship between English and American literature in the early nineteenth century.

If so, you will find that this edition (Oxford World Classics) is admirably edited, with detailed and interesting notes and an illuminating introduction by Susan Manning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone studying the book as part of a literature course.

The Sketch Book is an account of an apparently light tourist exploration of some aspects of Europe and America as Irving saw them. Not a travelogue in any generally accepted sense, it is, as its name suggests, more like a series of sketches.

Like many Americans before and since, Irving had an ambivalent relationship with Europe and this is what makes his stories of it interesting. However, his descriptions of English customs, places and people will probably seem quaint (at best) to most readers today. In my opinion he is more interesting when he is creating some myths about his own country. This is probably why he is best known for two memorable, and very American, tales - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both of which appeared first in The Sketch Book so you can read them here. These are both truly valuable pieces of writing and well worth study.

If you want a rather more fun and up to date take on the subject of an American in England, why not compare this book with Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island? A bit of a jump, I know, but give it a go, it made me think.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

The beginnings of 'real' homegrown American literature, 11 Mar 2003
I don't think many people will want to read this book for fun, although, as something to dip into - perhaps in the spirit of its original publication, as a periodical in monthly chunks - it could be just about amusing. Some readers may be interested in Irving as a forerunner of other American writers, or perhaps in what this book has to say about the relationship between English and American literature in the early nineteenth century.

If so, you will find that this edition (Oxford World Classics) is admirably edited, with detailed and interesting notes and an illuminating introduction by Susan Manning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone studying the book as part of a literature course.

The Sketch Book is an account of an apparently light tourist exploration of some aspects of Europe and America as Irving saw them. Not a travelogue in any generally accepted sense, it is, as its name suggests, more like a series of sketches.

Like many Americans before and since, Irving had an ambivalent relationship with Europe and this is what makes his stories of it interesting. However, his descriptions of English customs, places and people will probably seem quaint (at best) to most readers today. In my opinion he is more interesting when he is creating some myths about his own country. This is probably why he is best known for two memorable, and very American, tales - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both of which appeared first in The Sketch Book so you can read them here. These are both truly valuable pieces of writing and well worth study.

If you want a rather more fun and up to date take on the subject of an American in England, why not compare this book with Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island? A bit of a jump, I know, but give it a go, it made me think.

The most frightening book you will ever read..., 15 Dec 2008
I read this to my 5 year old and HE certainly thinks it's the most frightening book he has ever seen. he hasn't stopped talking about it, and he's 15 now.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

The beginnings of 'real' homegrown American literature, 11 Mar 2003
I don't think many people will want to read this book for fun, although, as something to dip into - perhaps in the spirit of its original publication, as a periodical in monthly chunks - it could be just about amusing. Some readers may be interested in Irving as a forerunner of other American writers, or perhaps in what this book has to say about the relationship between English and American literature in the early nineteenth century.

If so, you will find that this edition (Oxford World Classics) is admirably edited, with detailed and interesting notes and an illuminating introduction by Susan Manning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone studying the book as part of a literature course.

The Sketch Book is an account of an apparently light tourist exploration of some aspects of Europe and America as Irving saw them. Not a travelogue in any generally accepted sense, it is, as its name suggests, more like a series of sketches.

Like many Americans before and since, Irving had an ambivalent relationship with Europe and this is what makes his stories of it interesting. However, his descriptions of English customs, places and people will probably seem quaint (at best) to most readers today. In my opinion he is more interesting when he is creating some myths about his own country. This is probably why he is best known for two memorable, and very American, tales - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both of which appeared first in The Sketch Book so you can read them here. These are both truly valuable pieces of writing and well worth study.

If you want a rather more fun and up to date take on the subject of an American in England, why not compare this book with Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island? A bit of a jump, I know, but give it a go, it made me think.

The most frightening book you will ever read..., 15 Dec 2008
I read this to my 5 year old and HE certainly thinks it's the most frightening book he has ever seen. he hasn't stopped talking about it, and he's 15 now.

"HE'S BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", 15 Feb 2004
It has been quiet a while since i've read "GODZILLA", MOSTLY BECAUSE the drawings my big sister can draw BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even worse...It's black and white!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(though i watch black and white films alot).

And i mis the other monsters destroying the citie and godzilla!!!
(right).
There is also no diologe with any of the characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
not even a sentance at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of the combat scenes with godzilla and the weapon-x and the tank drawings are all right but that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The idea for a weapon-x is foolish, cartoonish and stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tough there's some Extras after the reveiw, it's about the history of godzilla and that's BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the price has gone down abit after i purchased it!!!!!!!!!!!!

a godzilla book...for THE DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 07 Feb 2004
When i first got this book (new) i was very excited and happy.
But...it was when i red the first ten pages or so that i was getting disapointed more and more to the end of the story.

All of the action scenes with godzilla are well drawn as well as the tanks and that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!, and there's that bad idea for the weapon-x gave the extra sci-fi and cartoon like ideas away!! I guess that the piture's were by far the best and that was still very BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The extra features after the reveiw are also dissapointing, they mainly give you the history of godzilla.

Oh no! There goes Tokyo..., 21 Apr 1998
This book is a faithful, surprisingly powerful and moving graphic adaptation of the movie "Godzilla 1985". The black and white pages add a somber tone to the tale of the disasterous return of a monster the world has thought long dead. Godzilla himself is lovingly drawn, as are the battle scenes between the Big G and the JSDF's ultimate weapon - the Super-X. The story is sometimes jarred by the "cartoony" appearance of some of the human characters, but overall this is a book any kaiju fan will want to read again and again.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

The beginnings of 'real' homegrown American literature, 11 Mar 2003
I don't think many people will want to read this book for fun, although, as something to dip into - perhaps in the spirit of its original publication, as a periodical in monthly chunks - it could be just about amusing. Some readers may be interested in Irving as a forerunner of other American writers, or perhaps in what this book has to say about the relationship between English and American literature in the early nineteenth century.

If so, you will find that this edition (Oxford World Classics) is admirably edited, with detailed and interesting notes and an illuminating introduction by Susan Manning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone studying the book as part of a literature course.

The Sketch Book is an account of an apparently light tourist exploration of some aspects of Europe and America as Irving saw them. Not a travelogue in any generally accepted sense, it is, as its name suggests, more like a series of sketches.

Like many Americans before and since, Irving had an ambivalent relationship with Europe and this is what makes his stories of it interesting. However, his descriptions of English customs, places and people will probably seem quaint (at best) to most readers today. In my opinion he is more interesting when he is creating some myths about his own country. This is probably why he is best known for two memorable, and very American, tales - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both of which appeared first in The Sketch Book so you can read them here. These are both truly valuable pieces of writing and well worth study.

If you want a rather more fun and up to date take on the subject of an American in England, why not compare this book with Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island? A bit of a jump, I know, but give it a go, it made me think.

The most frightening book you will ever read..., 15 Dec 2008
I read this to my 5 year old and HE certainly thinks it's the most frightening book he has ever seen. he hasn't stopped talking about it, and he's 15 now.

"HE'S BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", 15 Feb 2004
It has been quiet a while since i've read "GODZILLA", MOSTLY BECAUSE the drawings my big sister can draw BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even worse...It's black and white!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(though i watch black and white films alot).

And i mis the other monsters destroying the citie and godzilla!!!
(right).
There is also no diologe with any of the characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
not even a sentance at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of the combat scenes with godzilla and the weapon-x and the tank drawings are all right but that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The idea for a weapon-x is foolish, cartoonish and stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tough there's some Extras after the reveiw, it's about the history of godzilla and that's BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the price has gone down abit after i purchased it!!!!!!!!!!!!

a godzilla book...for THE DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 07 Feb 2004
When i first got this book (new) i was very excited and happy.
But...it was when i red the first ten pages or so that i was getting disapointed more and more to the end of the story.

All of the action scenes with godzilla are well drawn as well as the tanks and that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!, and there's that bad idea for the weapon-x gave the extra sci-fi and cartoon like ideas away!! I guess that the piture's were by far the best and that was still very BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The extra features after the reveiw are also dissapointing, they mainly give you the history of godzilla.

Oh no! There goes Tokyo..., 21 Apr 1998
This book is a faithful, surprisingly powerful and moving graphic adaptation of the movie "Godzilla 1985". The black and white pages add a somber tone to the tale of the disasterous return of a monster the world has thought long dead. Godzilla himself is lovingly drawn, as are the battle scenes between the Big G and the JSDF's ultimate weapon - the Super-X. The story is sometimes jarred by the "cartoony" appearance of some of the human characters, but overall this is a book any kaiju fan will want to read again and again.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

The Ankle Grabber, 30 Nov 2008
The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

A super book. It is about something that many kids worry about; unseen monsters in the bedroom. This particular one hides out under the bed.

There are great illustrations by Moira Kemp, and the story is nicely resolved. Some children may prefer to read it with an adult for reasurance.

Excellent book - 5/5

Very, very scary, 15 Nov 2006
I give it 4 stars because it fulfils it's purpose to scare you - a little too well, I think. It was one of our reading books when I was in year 3 and as a consequence most people I speak to remember being absolutely terrified by the ankle grabber - to the point that most agree with me that they had to run and jump into bed just to make sure they were safe! If you buy this book please only give it to your child after reading it first and checking how scared you think they will be - the other books in the series are nowhere near as scary.

Scary, 10 Jul 2005
I read this book when I was around 4 or 5.

I can tell you, if you want your child to be scared to go to bed at night, read this. The ankle grabber was my childhood monster and I litterally leaped to get into my bed and I never slept on the edge. It was a library book, too.

The beginnings of 'real' homegrown American literature, 11 Mar 2003
I don't think many people will want to read this book for fun, although, as something to dip into - perhaps in the spirit of its original publication, as a periodical in monthly chunks - it could be just about amusing. Some readers may be interested in Irving as a forerunner of other American writers, or perhaps in what this book has to say about the relationship between English and American literature in the early nineteenth century.

If so, you will find that this edition (Oxford World Classics) is admirably edited, with detailed and interesting notes and an illuminating introduction by Susan Manning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone studying the book as part of a literature course.

The Sketch Book is an account of an apparently light tourist exploration of some aspects of Europe and America as Irving saw them. Not a travelogue in any generally accepted sense, it is, as its name suggests, more like a series of sketches.

Like many Americans before and since, Irving had an ambivalent relationship with Europe and this is what makes his stories of it interesting. However, his descriptions of English customs, places and people will probably seem quaint (at best) to most readers today. In my opinion he is more interesting when he is creating some myths about his own country. This is probably why he is best known for two memorable, and very American, tales - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both of which appeared first in The Sketch Book so you can read them here. These are both truly valuable pieces of writing and well worth study.

If you want a rather more fun and up to date take on the subject of an American in England, why not compare this book with Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island? A bit of a jump, I know, but give it a go, it made me think.

The most frightening book you will ever read..., 15 Dec 2008
I read this to my 5 year old and HE certainly thinks it's the most frightening book he has ever seen. he hasn't stopped talking about it, and he's 15 now.

"HE'S BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", 15 Feb 2004
It has been quiet a while since i've read "GODZILLA", MOSTLY BECAUSE the drawings my big sister can draw BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even worse...It's black and white!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(though i watch black and white films alot).

And i mis the other monsters destroying the citie and godzilla!!!
(right).
There is also no diologe with any of the characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
not even a sentance at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of the combat scenes with godzilla and the weapon-x and the tank drawings are all right but that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The idea for a weapon-x is foolish, cartoonish and stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tough there's some Extras after the reveiw, it's about the history of godzilla and that's BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the price has gone down abit after i purchased it!!!!!!!!!!!!

a godzilla book...for THE DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 07 Feb 2004
When i first got this book (new) i was very excited and happy.
But...it was when i red the first ten pages or so that i was getting disapointed more and more to the end of the story.

All of the action scenes with godzilla are well drawn as well as the tanks and that was still dissapointing!!!!!!!!!!!, and there's that bad idea for the weapon-x gave the extra sci-fi and cartoon like ideas away!! I guess that the piture's were by far the best and that was still very BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The extra features after the reveiw are also dissapointing, they mainly give you the history of godzilla.

Oh no! There goes Tokyo..., 21 Apr 1998
This book is a faithful, surprisingly powerful and moving graphic adaptation of the movie "Godzilla 1985". The black and white pages add a somber tone to the tale of the disasterous return of a monster the world has thought long dead. Godzilla himself is lovingly drawn, as are the battle scenes between the Big G and the JSDF's ultimate weapon - the Super-X. The story is sometimes jarred by the "cartoony" appearance of some of the human characters, but overall this is a book any kaiju fan will want to read again and again.

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT

Period Observations set off Fantastical Tales, 15 Jul 2008
First, a note on the edition. I have a copy of The Modern Library 2001 paperback; this is a handsome, compact volume, complete with concise notes and an introduction from a modern author. It is well bound with quality paper, and I rather like the classy illustration on the cover.

The work itself is, of course, a classic, albeit - in the UK at least - a lesser known one. The title is somewhat misleading; to my mind, '... and Other Stories' implies a collection of narrative-based short stories, but that is not really what you get. Irving's original title and the subtitle here, 'The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.', is a better description. 'Geoffry Crayon' is a fictional front for Irving; his sketchbook is a collection of miscellaneous prose pieces. There are several observations - chiefly of nineteenth century England from the perspective of a visiting American; a number of what appear to be fictionalised versions of true tales picked up on his travels; a retold legend or two, and a few original stories. Probably the best known of the original stories are 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' itself. Interestingly, both of these purport to be the work of another fictional creation of Irving's, one 'Diedrich Knickerbocker'. Both are set in New York State.

Personally, I quite like to read the stories in their original context, even if they don't fit the general pattern, which is the observations of an American abroad in England. Most of these observations are rather quaint and rambling, and are very much of their time. Taken together, though, they do provide a picture of how Irving would have seen England. Given that this collection was first published, and was well recieved, in England, this is quite interesting for an English reader with historical perspective.

But you're really interested in the stories, aren't you? (I was!)

Rip Van Winkle was oddly unsatisfying. It felt like a sketch for a longer work; our titular sleeper met with a curious company in the wilderness, joined with their revelry and awoke 20 years later. Perhaps the bare-bones nature of this tale, with its echoes of Thomas the Rhymer and other European faerie sleepers, is the very reason that its name has entered the cultural consciousness when older, more fabulous, tales lie on the verge of being forgotten.

Sleep Hollow is longer and more satisfying. It is easier to see through the supernatural gloss and to 'solve' the mystery of Ichabod Crane's fate - in fact, the solution is signposted quite clearly in the text. Irving - via Knickerbocker - creates a powerful sense of atmosphere in the story itself and leaves just enough space for the reader to feel smug about reading between the lines.

Other reviewers have made a point of saying that the story and the recent film are not very similar. To an extent, this is true; the film essentially takes the short story as a springboard into the realms of fantasy. In a way, the story is a sketch for the film. Yet I recognised the same atmosphere, and I didn't feel that the story itself was lacking. It is complete within itself, and almost makes the film appear indulgently fabulous. But that is the nature of film, and it is almost certainly what most of its viewers wanted from the film.

I enjoyed reading the story, and I enjoyed the film. There is a gulf between them, but - to belabour Irving's own metaphor - it is that between an artist's simple sketch of a scene and a later working up into an elaborate, showy exhibition piece with added figures from the artist's elaborate imaginings. Of course, in this case, there are two artists... but I digress.

'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories' is definitely worth the read for the title story alone; the remainder adds context and colour.

Oh, and for the record: 'Rumplestilskin' is not here. As far as I am aware, that tale is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, and has never had any connection to Washington Irving.

Not what I expected., 28 Sep 2001
In rural America of the early nineteenth Century, by the Hudson River, lies the small village of Sleepy Hollow. The only recently arrived scholl teacher, the tall and lean Ichabod Crane, likes to spend his evenings by the fire with the old Dutch wives, listening to local horror stories of ghouls and goblins and haunted houses, among which that of the headless horseman, until one night after leaving the ball, he is chased by the legendary Galloping Hessian.

I read this story because I love the film, and was surprised to see how few pages, less than ten out of fifty, were actually devoted to the mystery of the headless horseman itself. Although very well written, with descriptions that are stunningly real, the book left me hungry for more.

Set in the time of the Declaration of Independance of the United States, Rip van Winkle is the story of a man who, upon walking in the mountains with his dog, stumbles upon a strange man with a keg of liquor, and a small company of odd-looking folk playing a bowling game. When he wakes up the next morning, everything he used to know has changed...

It was ok, but..., 27 Jun 2001
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle are my favourite parts of this book. However, if you are buying this book on the strength of the movie Sleepy Hollow, the actual telling is very different. A good read.

See the Film, Read The Book, 16 Jan 2000
What can you say! The film is great the book is even better. GET IT