Featured Review
A review of "A Children's Primer of Cautionary Tales", (2025) by Anonymous
Inspired by "A Children's Primer of Cautionary Tales" a book by Hilaire Belloc published in 1907, a collection of satirical poems warning children about misbehavior with grisly and humorous outcomes.
In this current rendition of "A Children's Primer of Cautionary Tales", author Eric Feltman presents his readers with a modern political satire, perhaps better identified as a who's-who of troublesome trolls rather than a collection of "tales". There are no lessons learned or actions with outcomes, only lists of warnings about evil characters in contemporary U.S. politics and an echoing plea for readers to remain steadfast in their fight against these tyrants. That being said, the book is a compelling read for many reasons, perhaps the most striking of which is its artistic style.
Feltman crafted his list of villains in a 'top-down' hierarchy as measured by their political power. The table of contents on page 7 is titled "The Chapters" and provides the reader with a preview of the twenty-five characters to be found within. Clever parodies of their names do little to conceal their real world identity...that, and the fact that this book is modern political satire. If you've paid any attention at all to recent U.S. politics you'll surely recognize the players in this rogues' gallery.
What follows is a textual take-down of each member of our current political elite, but what makes this book so compelling is its artistic style. Each chapter focuses on one person. The text lists their evil traits and is sometimes prosaic but often poetic. This one is a liar, a cheat, a con artist. That one is a murderous psychopath, a propagandist, a torturer. The text blends perfectly with two graphic art elements in each chapter. First is a "sigil", a graphic shorthand or icon to symbolize that particular chapter's villain. The second of the two graphic elements is a political cartoon, a gothic-styled caricature of the subject politician.
In its entirety the style was completely engaging, fascinating and intentionally humorous. One might fanaticize they were reading an ancient, dusty textbook found in Hogwarts Library of the Dark Arts about the wizards and daemons who practice it.
Whatever your political opinions may be and however you choose to express them, author Eric Feltman's "A Children's Primer of Cautionary Tales" is a worthwhile effort that will leave you feeling better informed. well entertained, or, with a bit of luck, both.
Author’s Reply:
Thank you so much for this generous review. I am deeply grateful the work resonated with you.
Truth be told, I was not familiar with Hilaire Belloc and his Cautionary Tales for Children.
While his stories were certainly written for children, as you now know, mine were not.
I shudder to think what nightmares they might cause in an impressionable young reader.