Edward Lear (1812–1888)

I was initially drawn to Jan Brett’s artwork for it’s Ukrainian and Eastern European flavour, but I love the fact that she explores other cultures for different books. Poems like Lear’s “The Owl and the Pussycat” do not focus on specific tropes or use culture-specific language, so they are the perfect literary medium to pair with an experimental style, which Brett does in this instance by choosing to place the Owl and the Pussycat in a decidedly South American setting. Even though show more Brett moves away from her signature detailed-border style with this book I still found that the artwork tells of the couple’s journey across the ocean very effectively. She uses the frame of the ocean to give montages of sea-life and really pushes the boundaries of composition to give Lear’s simplistic poem more depth, picturing the Owl catching dinner in the ocean and the Pussycat’s insistent attitude that they marry. The story may not have the unique draw of Brett’s Ukrainian folktales, but it is a charming addition to her oeuvre none-the-less! show less

Edward Lear is such a great writer in addition to being an artist. I thoroughly enjoyed his journey through the Balkans. Each chapter begins with an outline, as if Lear didn't want to forget anything. His entries are so descriptive and vibrant it's hard to imagine that he forgot a single detail.
At every stop along the journey Lear would take a hike to a picturesque location so that he might draw the landscape. He attracted plenty of attention and was sometimes accused of evoking the devil show more with his art. He was constantly getting himself into trouble. For example, one time he drew portraits of two brothers. Simply by mistake he had drawn one brother's portrait larger than the other. He ended up offending them both. Like any good artist he was continually worried about losing the light and would often set out at daybreak to capture the landscape. While his art is amazing so is his journal. He manages to illustrate not only the landscape but the cultures of the community as well. show less

I'm not a big one for poetry, but I do have a fondness for nonsense. Lear's rhymes evoke such fantastical images and the words just beg to be read aloud.

Edward Lear's classic children's poem, originally included in his 1871 collection, Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, is here presented in picture-book form, with lovely watercolor illustrations by Charlotte Voake. As the story unfolds, the titular strigine and feline heroes head to sea in a pea-green boat, serenading and then proposing to one another, before wedding in a tropical paradise. The poem concludes as the happy pair dances by the light of the moon...

Although long show more aware of The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, which was recently named Britain's favorite children's poem, I had never had the pleasure of reading it, before picking up this edition illustrated by Voake. I'm glad that I finally got around to it, as it is a wonderful little work, one that is immense fun to read to aloud, and one whose imaginative nonsense leaves the reader wanting more. Fortunately for them, popular British children's author Julia Donaldson recently penned a sequel, The Further Adventures of The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, also illustrated by Voake. show less