A wonderful new version of a nonsense classic.
Climb to the top of the Crumpetty Tree and meet the Blue Baboon, the Fimble Fowl, the Dong with a luminous nose and, of course, the Quangle Wangle in his huge and lovely Hat!
Edward Lear (1812-1888) was born in London, the child of a stockbroker. He showed a talent for drawing from an early age, and as a young man began to earn his living as an artist, working as a draughtsman for the Zoological Society, and later for the British Museum. In 1832 he was engaged by Lord Stanley to make drawings of the rare birds and animals in the menagerie at his home. Lear lived on Stanley's estate for five years, and would entertain the children of his patron with his drawings and the limericks and nonsense rhymes that he would make up for them. In 1846 he published a collection of his verses, A Book of Nonsense, which became extremely popular with children and adults. Further collections followed: Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets (1870), More Nonsense Rhymes (1871) and Laughable Lyrics (1876). He spent most of the rest of his life abroad, particularly in Italy, and died in 1888.
Louise Voce's illustrations have appeared in many publications, including The Sunday Times Magazine and The Radio Times, as well as on greetings cards. She has illustrated many children's books including "Hello, Goodbye", "The Owl and the Pussy Cat" and "The Quangle Wangle's Hat."