Tiny Twisted Tales by Calvin Innes from My Little Big Town

My Little Big Town are a publisher based in Hull which is about an hour's drive away from where I live.  I was delighted to be contacted by them recently and asked if I would like to take a look at some of their books.   My Little Big Town produce and publish books and comics in all genres, but especially focus on high quality children's literature.  

Check out their website here, they are also on Twitter here and have a Facebook page.

I was sent the first three books in the Tiny Twisted Tales series, written and illustrated by Calvin Innes.  The Tiny Twisted Tales are a collection of short stories and poems all featuring scary, gruesome characters dreamt up by Calvin Innes accompanied by his wonderful illustrations.

Book number one is Stuart The Bug Eating Man - a tale about Stuart who loves to eat bugs, any kind of bugs.  He spends all day collecting the most awful and ugly insects and delights in chomping them down, accompanied by a glass of liquidized slug.   Stuart's wife and children are horrified by his behaviour and just want him to get a job and be a normal husband and father.  One day Stuart has a light-bulb moment and his idea allows him to carry on eating bugs, but also to provide handsomely for his family.

Number two in the series is Pale Henry.   Henry is a sad, sickly looking little boy who doesn't like sunshine and doesn't leave the house.  He's pale and thin and would dearly love to play outside in the sunshine like all of the other children.

The final book of the trio is Jenny.   Jenny is no ordinary little girl, she's a werewolf hunting eight-year-old and nothing really scares her.  Jenny doesn't like pink, or fluffy, or dolls. She is happiest when she is in the most frightening of situations, where other children would cry and scream.

Each one of the Tiny Twisted Tales are wonderfully produced.  Calvin Innes has such an imagination, just perfect for small children who really enjoy reading about yuk and slime and all things horrid.  These stories are not only very entertaining, but are a perfect way of introducing poetry to children, making it funny and accessible and sometimes downright gruesome.  There is no doubt that Calvin Innes' illustrations add so much to the books - each one is so precisely drawn and the cartoon characters suit the stories perfectly.

I will enjoy sharing these stories with my little nephew, he will adore the silliness. These books make you smile just by looking at the front cover, you will continue to smile right through to the last page.

Find out more about Calvin Innes at his website here.

My thanks go to Katy at My Little Big Town for sending these books to me.