Niel Gaiman

Mr. Gaiman is a true magician of words. His writing is amazingly well-suited for reading out loud. His children's books are gifts to child and parent alike. I read Coraline to my 8-year old daughter and she declared it the best book ever. For weeks she pretended to be Coraline. The movie is spectacular as well - one of the few movies I've seen after reading the book that has left me satisfied. We have just finished reading The Graveyard Book (which Gaiman beautifully patterned after The Jungle Book). It is gorgeous, scary, and inspiring. Because of it, my daughter wants me to read The Jungle Book now.

Here are a couple of Neil Gaiman stories on the 'Net. The first one is a poem made into a children's book and was written for his god-daughter Tash, Tori Amos' daughter. The second one is a Neil Gaiman story, designed by the great Gahan Wilson and directed by Steven-Charles Jaffe.