FrazierTales Volume 2 continues the whacky stories and overstimulating illustrations of Mark and Chris Frazier, based on a series of bed time stories Mark told his once three-year-old son. The storylines in Volume 2 mimic those in Volume 1 and, likewise, teach moral lessons based on inclusiveness. Explanatory text, which appears several times throughout the book, makes clear the amateur nature of the accompanying stories, which are intended predominantly for family and friends.

The illustrations have the same psychedelic bent - think Ren and Stimpy or Rick and Morty; so while they are likely to attract the attention of a 10-12-year-old, they may disturb or frighten the younger kids for whom the original stories were apparently created. In addition, the pages are crammed with images in a way that can be confusing to many people, particularly the very young. Though I prefer accuracy even in children’s stories where possible, the Frazier brother’s use of impossibly disparate animal characters - the real animals don’t even live on the same continent - speaks to the intentionally absurd nature of their stories.

My favorite is the last story, entitled Boris, the Not-So-Bad Buzzard, which demonstrates how certain behaviors - like pulling pranks on friends - can be not-so-bad when done infrequently but how, when they become a part of a person’s every-day personality, the same behaviors can make that person friendless. I think it is a good lesson that has not yet been over-represented in children’s books.

If you are looking for genuinely original, home-grown picture-book stories, you should give the Frazier brother’s picture books a whirl. There are certainly kids who will identify with FrazierTales’ whacky nature, and parents will appreciate the stories’ overriding themes of friendship, compassion, and inclusiveness.

FrazierTales Collection Volume 2 contains the following three stories: 1) The Porcupine and Skunk; 2) The Robin, the Oriole, and the Rainbow; and 3) Boris, the Not-So-Bad Buzzard.