I’ve been searching for a book of science fiction short stories, with black and white illustrations interspersed throughout. I can’t be sure of the publication date, though I read it in the late 80s, early 90s. I can recall to some degree two of the stories;
One was about a young boy who terrorized his parents with psychic/telekinetic powers. I remember the illustration was of a close up of the boy’s face as he looked up at a bird and killed it with his mind. The bird may have been depicted as falling from the sky, the kid’s face suggested he took pleasure in this act. It is possible that the story is “It’s a Good Life”, but I wasn’t able to trace it back to the book I’ve been searching for.
Another story, the details of which I remember more vaguely, involved an astronaut who crashes on an alien planet who gradually de-evolves into a primitive alien (possibly a primate-like creature). It may have been written in diary form, as I can recall that the journal entries became less intelligible as the astronaut succumbed to his transformation.
I want to say that this was a collection of stories by various authors, but it may very well have been the work of one person.