Twice Told

It's an interesting concept. Scott Hunt sent some original drawings out to authors, and two authors per picture wrote stories inspired by the pictures. It's definitely NOT a book for a 4th/5th grade classroom: the picture with a cake and an ax on the kitchen table inspired a tale of a semi-abusive father forcing a coming-of-age ceremony on his son, and in the other, the son kills his father with the ax. There's also homosexuality in one, and sexual abuse in another.

That said, I loved both of the stories that go with the picture on the cover -- an older woman in her robe and scuffs giving a bear what-for; shaking her finger at him so hard it's blurred. In one story, the bear is a stuffed animal come to life, and in the other, nature's tables are turned in quite a clever way.

There are some other good stories, and the notes from the authors in the back shed light on what it was about the picture that spoke to each of them, and how they went about writing their story for the collection.