Have you ever wondered what would happen if Tim Burton was locked in a dungeon with only sketchbook, a black pen and a packet of coloured pencils to occupy him?

Well, now you can find out. From the twisted mind behind such films as "Edward Scissorhands", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and "Corpse Bride", just to name a few, comes The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy.

This poetry collection about freakish children with faces that even their mothers cannot love will leave you not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Their unhappy lives are chronicled in the longer poems, while the shorter poems offer poignant snapshots of their suffering. Like the title character, most of these misfits come to worse ends than Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies.

The accompanying sketches portray a grotesquely-cute cast of characters add both an element of humour and horror. Be warned that some illustrations, such as the one accompanying the Boy with Nails in His Eyes are not for the faint of heart.

From the ill-fated romance between Match-Boy and Stick Girl, to the tragic demise of Melonhead, there's something for everyone. However, the brevity of many poems will leave you wanting more. Where does the Hideous Penguin Boy buy his suits? Did Stain Boy ever find a costume he couldn't stain?

Rating: Four Toxic Boys out of five.

'The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories', a compilation of 23 short poems with eccentric illustrations by Tim Burton. Most know of Tim Burton's work, but for those who don't, he is the creator of such movies as Beetle juice, Mars Attacks!, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, PeeWee's Big Adventure, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The main theme of this book is the tales of a number of misguided, misunderstood and unfortunate children who try to deal with their strange and cruel lives. Some of the stories are very depressing but majority of them are downright hilarious. I also discovered (soon after reading this book) that Tim Burton actually made a couple short animated cartoons based of these characters, particularly the character 'Stain Boy' which was one of my favorites!

I received this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago and have read it many times since. It is very dark, creepy at times and quite witty. The best parts of the novel that always makes me laugh (and owners of this book will know what I'm talking about) is when you read a poem and then turn the page expecting it to continue, only to find it's the end of the odd story!

The whole book is extremely well done and it lives up to Tim Burton's twisted style and sense of humor. The art work is creepy and bold and also resemble a few characters from his famous movie 'Nightmare Before Christmas', such as 'Mummy Boy'.

I recommend this book to those who love Tim Burton's style of work and enjoy weird story with even weirder characters. The art work alone is brilliant, it really makes the poems that much sadder, funnier and lovable almost all at once!

I would have to say after every Tim Burton, movie I have seen, this book would be by fan my favourite thing he has done. It's a dark humour you only see a little in his movies. with poems about boys who cause stains, to girl who stair, the book is sure to make anyone laugh.

This is an interesting book. I really liked it but it was sorta weird. Tim burton's poems i gotta admit are REALLY FUNNY, but some are them are quite odd. This is a book for people who like poetry and a good chuckle.