Please Do Not Touch: A Collection of Stories - Hardcover

Gorog, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590466828 ISBN 13: 9780590466820

Publisher: Scholastic, 1993

Synopsis

An eerie art gallery is the scene of a collection of spine-chilling tales in which visitors who make the mistake of touching the exhibits are whisked off to extraordinary, terrifying places.

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Reviews

Gorog frames her 11 horror stories with an explicit (second-person) invitation to her audience, urging them to visit the art exhibit at the Gallery Pitu, where the paintings magically draw viewers into the worlds they portray. Included in this rather disparate assortment is a lesson in the laws of fate, set in ancient Damascus; a turn-of-the-century Halloween party where something goes very wrong with a mummy costume; and a coffee-maker that takes over the life of a children's book writer. In another story (narrated, like the framing device, in the second person) the reader is put in the shoes of a character who captures criminals with the help of his grandmother. As intriguing as the idea of Gorog's interactive picture gallery is, it never lives up to its potential. Many of the stories read like sketches, straining for plot twists and suffering from a lack of structure. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A strong premise and a dozen fine stories don't quite achieve the sum of their parts. The concept--the reader enters a picture gallery as onlooker, character, or fly on the wall--is intriguing, as are the stories relating to the paintings: a costume made from a magician's sheets takes possession of its wearer; a shy disc- jockey's thoughts are read by his listeners; an unappreciated boy is kidnapped by a shaft of moonlight and deposited in the home of a lonely child. In perhaps the best tale, a Native American boy must choose between his brothers and a sister who married a bear. The settings range through various historical epochs and other realms (mythic, supernatural); the tone is accessible yet sophisticated--Gorog raises such literary questions as the transgressive nature of looking at (or touching) other lives. It's the framing device that's underdeveloped; while the paintings are absorbing, the ``Gallery Pitu'' and its mysterious artist are only sketched. Still, these eerie tales will fascinate young readers. (Short stories. 10+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590466828
• ISBN 13: 9780590466820
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 131