THE GRAPHIC CANON OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE is written with a specific type of person in mind. It’s for the kind of person who appreciates beautiful artwork, loves an engrossing story and wants to see old tales re-imagined in new and exciting ways.

For that type of person, this book is a masterpiece. For everyone else, it’s simply amazing.

"The book... starts with versions of Aesop’s Fables, and ends with Harry Potter. And everything in between is amazing."

At a whopping 470 pages, THE GRAPHIC CANON OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE is a compilation of three smaller volumes that were published individually. This, though, is the definitive edition. Each story has an introduction by editor Russ Kick, explaining the background (for instance, which version of the story was being used with some of the older tales) and a little bit about the writers and artists. And the back of the book has more than 20 pages of illustrations by various artists, giving their interpretations of everything from “Pinocchio” to The Hunger Games.

The book collects the illustrated version of 50 different children’s stories, arranged chronologically. It starts with versions of Aesop’s Fables, and ends with Harry Potter. And everything in between is amazing.

Some of the stories don’t even have words. “Little Red Riding Hood” is a fantastic example, as is “The Firebird,” which had such amazing art that its image graces the cover (and there was a lot of competition for that spot).

Many of the stories are portrayed in fantastic and unique ways. For instance, the version of “Treasure Island” in the book isn’t actually “Treasure Island.” It’s the story of a girl’s relationship with her father and brother, told literally on top of illustrations from “Treasure Island.” It’s astounding, and incredibly poignant.

The only detriment to THE GRAPHIC CANON OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE is its sheer size. This book is massive. It’s 8.5x11 inches and weighs quite a few pounds. It’s definitely not a book you can hold in one hand. It’s even hard to hold in two. It seems more of a coffee-table book than a graphic novel. But don’t let the size stop you. The contents make the extra strength needed to lift the book well worth it.

However, the contents also make the book somewhat unsuitable for children. These may be children’s stories, but they’re necessarily told for children. Red Riding Hood, for instance, gets tricked into eating her grandmother’s heart and drinking her blood before she gets naked and climbs into bed with a monster, where she is devoured.

There is nudity and violence. Death happens, and sex is alluded to on occasion. The stories, in that regard, are real. It’s something Kick addresses in the book’s foreword. “The book has obvious appeal for teens and adults, and maybe they’re the only audiences for a work that shows so many bizarre, upsetting, and nightmarish images,” he writes. “Or perhaps we should keep in mind something [Maurice] Sendak said in one of his final interviews: ‘I refuse to lie to children. I refuse to cater to the bullshit of innocence.’”

There is no catering here. And in turn, THE GRAPHIC CANON OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE is a beautiful and enchanting book.