Norman Thelwell (1923–2004)

As every, Thelwell's eye for the ridiculous, playing with language, and summarising the many frustrations of a given hobby are on point. The book itself has dated both well and poorly. Gardening itself has only changed superficially, but some of the interactions between individuals was just a bit off.

To be honest, I bought a used hardcover first edition of Penelope as a Christmas present for my horse-loving, Thelwell fan best friend. I decided to read for myself first. Yes, I chuckled a lot. I think my favorite of these newspaper cartoon reprints was the one where Penelope's pony, Kipper, decided to lie down in the middle of the high street. Quick thinking there, Penelope.

The perfect gift for any sailor who has misinterpreted a distress signal, worn stilettos on board, abandoned ship, or experienced irreparable damage to their social status at the club. Norman Thelwell was a keen observer of the foibles of the British at work and play. He is best known for his small, round and hairy ponies and their small, equally round little girl owners.

The summary says 'Thelwell's cartoons are amongst the funniest published on man's relationship with the animal kingdom.' I found them mildly interesting and a little funny, but not wonderful enough for me to tell people to rush out to get this book. Each page has a sentence and then a funny cartoon to go with it. If your library has it, you could sit down and probably go through it in 15 minutes or so and enjoy it.
The cartoons are very well drawn, and if you wanted examples of good cartoons show more because you like to draw I would give it a more stars. I like having it now in my collection for the cartoons and that it is different than any of my other books on dogs. show less