Once upon a place is a wonderful book made up of a series of short stories chosen by Eoin Colfer that all have one thing in common: they are written by Irish writers!
It is a beautiful collection of stories and poems that is definitely worth buying for a friend or family member of any age.
Out of the many stories in this collection my top two would HAVE to be The World’s Greatest Teen Detective by Derek Landy (Yay Skulduggery Pleasant!) and The Bear by John Connolly. While Landy’s writing is very humorous and quite obviously written with that in mind, Connolly’s is more serious, heartfelt and quite adorable.
The. Illustrations. Are. AMAZING! The front cover is beautiful in full colour and black and white drawings feature through each story or poem. All illustrations are by P. J. Lynch, and they’re incredibly detailed and realistic, which aids the storytelling and helps suck you into the stories. This collection wouldn’t be the same without these magnificent illustrations.
All in all, Once Upon a Place is a must for anyone, as a gift or just for yourself. I rate it 9½ out of 10.
