The Singing Bones is Shaun Tan's take on the folk tales of the brothers Grimm. For each of 75 stories, Tan selected an excerpt and created a sculpture to illustrate that excerpt. The sculptures were then photographed to pair with the text.

Some of these illustrations are haunting, even creepy. The lighting is done extraordinarily well and captures the mood of the story well; sometimes sunny and optimistic, sometimes scary. The book is an interesting way to breathe new life into very familiar material, and will likely inspire some readers to revisit the original stories, rather than the sanitised versions in popular culture.

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Ok, this book is so beautiful that I want to eat it. I want the images to live inside my eyes, so that I can see them when I close the lids. I want to touch the art, to reread the concise and lovely fairy tale retellings, to stare in fascination at the changing backgrounds, which transform the interior of the book to a literal window on another world.

I have always loved Inuit/ Alaska Native/ South American/ Primitive African art, but in loving the forms have felt the lack of the story in my ignorant outsider view. Tan's brilliant sculptures bring the stories I have always loved and treasured into harmonious interpretation, where form and tale combine.

Also, da-yamn, I never realized that one could do that with paper clay. It makes sense to me, but it's still masterful. ( )

This book was awesome! Sculptures and excerpts from Grimm's fairy tales. Amazing art work. My favorite was the Hansel and Gretel one. There's not one bad thing I can say for this book. It would be a perfect coffee table book for any home!
I give this book 4 1/2 stars. ( )

The incomparable Shaun Tan's sculptures, each portraying a different Grimms' fairy tale, are both enchanting and unsettling.

A collection of excerpts from Grimm's fairy tales, with accompanying sculptures by Shaun Tan. As a fan of both fairy tales and Shaun Tan's work, this book was squarely in my wheelhouse. I wasn't familiar with many of the tales, but I enjoyed getting acquainted with some of the more obscure stories and seeing a new perspective on some old favorites. Highly recommended. ( )