Sorry to have left my thread untended, although it did evolve in some interesting directions, and I do very much appreciate all that came up.. It is true, I was thinking of things more along the lines of Grimm or Kafka (yes, horror, & fairy tale & fable). The whole "child in jeopardy" line is an interesting one, and a sensitivity we see a lot working w/ readers at the library, as well as animals getting hurt. ("A string of hammer murders is fine - just don't shoot the dog.") The film An American Crime - based on the true story of Sylvia Likens - got a decidedly mixed response along the same lines.
I share the squeamishness, tending to prefer stories where the kids are the monsters, rather than victims: http://shelftalk.spl.org/2008/05/03/attack-of-the-evil-scary-children/
In fact, at my storytime for adults next Monday I'll be reading Ray Bradbury's "The Small Assassin," which is a really disturbing and horrifying story of a newborn baby who narrowly fails to kill his mother in childbirth, and works to finish the job,
As for the play, it is a terrific piece of work, and might prove an interesting excursion for rara avians looking for something a little different:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pillowman
The play manages to get a pretty big laugh in the middle of a scene in which a storytale little girl is crucified by her storytale parents - pretty impressive.
Thanks, all.
David Wright http://shelftalk.spl.org
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