The Gashlycrumb Tinies

Summary

The Gashlycrumb Tinies is Edward Gorey’s famous darkly comic alphabet book, in which twenty-six children—one for each letter of the alphabet—meet untimely and often absurd deaths. Told in rhyming couplets and accompanied by Gorey’s distinctive black-and-white illustrations, the book combines a playful format with macabre subject matter. Although humorous to many adults, the book can also prompt thoughtful reflection with older children on themes of mortality, humor, fear, and the meaning of life’s fragility.

Sensitivity Note: This story presents the deaths of children in stylized and ironic ways. While the tone is humorous, some readers may find the subject matter disturbing. Facilitators should exercise discretion in choosing this book for discussion, introducing it only with older elementary students or beyond. Provide time for students to share their feelings and reactions, and acknowledge openly that the book’s dark humor may not be comfortable for everyone.

Guidelines for Discussion

Though The Gashlycrumb Tinies is not a typical children’s book, its combination of humor and morbidity creates opportunities for philosophical discussion on topics that are often avoided in classrooms but are important to children’s developing understanding of life.

One central theme is mortality and the meaning of death. The book introduces death in a highly stylized, almost cartoonish way, which can prompt questions about how we talk about death and why people often use humor to make difficult topics less frightening. Children may wonder why death happens at all, and whether making jokes about it makes it easier to think about.

Another theme is fear and humor. Gorey’s book straddles the line between scary and funny. Facilitators can invite students to reflect on how the same story can make one person laugh and another person uncomfortable. Why do we sometimes laugh at scary or sad things? Does humor help us cope, or does it risk making light of something serious?

The story also raises questions of fairness and fate. Each child’s end is arbitrary, ranging from tragic to ridiculous. This can lead to conversations about whether life is fair, what we mean when we say “things happen for a reason,” and how we make sense of events that seem random.

Finally, the book can open discussions on imagination and perspective. Gorey uses exaggeration and absurdity to tell his tale, which can help children explore how imagination reshapes serious subjects. Facilitators can guide students in thinking about the role of storytelling in confronting life’s difficulties: how art, humor, and imagination can change the way we view experiences like fear, sadness, or even mortality.

Discussion Questions

Mortality and Death

1. Why do you think Edward Gorey made a book where every child dies?
2. Should death be something we talk about, or something we avoid?
3. Can humor make it easier to think about scary or sad things?

Fear and Humor

1. Was the book more scary or more funny to you? Why?
2. Why do people sometimes laugh at things that are frightening or sad?
3. Does laughing at something always mean we don’t take it seriously?

Fairness and Fate

1. Do the children in the book die in fair or unfair ways?
2. Is life always fair? Why or why not?
3. What do people mean when they say “things happen for a reason”? Do you agree?

Imagination and Perspective

1. Why might an author exaggerate or make up strange situations when talking about something serious like death?
2. Does imagination make hard topics easier to think about?
3. How can stories help us look at serious issues in new ways?

Suggested Activity: An Awful Alphabet

This activity invites students to engage with Gorey’s playful, exaggerated style while reflecting on the role of humor in dealing with difficult topics. Begin by acknowledging the unusual subject matter of The Gashlycrumb Tinies and discussing how Gorey used exaggeration, rhyme, and absurdity to transform something serious into dark humor.

Provide students with paper and writing supplies. Ask them to invent their own humorous alphabet entries, inspired by Gorey’s style but not necessarily focused on death. Encourage them to think of exaggerated, silly, or absurd situations for each letter—for example: “A is for Alex who ate all the pies” or “B is for Bella who bounced to the sky.” Students may illustrate their couplets in Gorey’s spirit, using black-and-white drawings or their own artistic style.

Afterward, invite students to share their creations. Discuss as a group how humor and exaggeration can change the way we experience serious or everyday events. Ask: Does making something silly change how we feel about it? Why might people use humor when they’re nervous or sad? This helps students connect Gorey’s playful treatment of death with the broader role of humor and imagination in human life.