Jill Thompson – The Little Endless Storybook & Delirium’s Party

141 & 142. The Little Endless Storybook and Delirium’s Party by Jill Thompson (2001, 2011)
Sandman, related

Length: 56 & 64 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Storybooks

Started/Finished: 03 November 2011

Where did they come from? The library.
Why do I have it? They’ve been on my wishlist ever since I read Sandman and all the related material I could get my hands on, but my library just acquired them recently.

Even Despair and
Destruction are way cuter
when they’re little kids.

Summary: The Little Endless Storybooks are just that, children’s storybooks, illustrated with lovely watercolors by Jill Thompson, that feature the kid versions of the Endless first featured in Sandman #40. In The Little Endless Storybook, Delirium has gotten lost, and it’s up to her companion and guardian, the dog Barnabas, to find her. He visits each of her siblings in turn, but she’s nowhere to be found! In Delirium’s Party, Delirium realizes that she’s never seen her sister Despair smile, so she throws her a party to try to change that fact.

Review: Aww, these were cute. I didn’t realize before I got them that they really were kids’ storybooks, rather than what I think of as more regular graphic novels. They’re pitched to kids in their language as well, although I don’t know how much sense they’d make to someone who isn’t already familiar with the Endless from the regular Sandman canon – which is decidedly not kids’ stuff. The pictures are gorgeous and full of detail (and color, since Delirium is a major player in both stories), with plenty for both kids and adults to look at.

Most of the fun in this series, I think, is in the miniaturized versions of the Endless, in how they interact with each other, and how their interactions compare to those of their adult forms. (I think Little Destruction is my favorite, although I always wished he got more screen time in the canon versions as well.) The first book gives each of the Endless their own chance to shine, but they don’t really interact with each other, while the second book is more Delirium-focused (which I find a little tiresome), but at least features all of the siblings in the same place at the same time. In any case, they’re both cute, lighthearted reads, and both made me really want to go back and re-read the Sandman proper. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Probably only for Sandman fans, these are nonessential but definitely fun additions to the collection.

The Little Endless Storybook: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Delirium’s Party: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

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