World-renowned Joy Cowley brings her silly side to this collection of rhymes and nonsense old and new, illustrated in colour by master of the absurd David Barrow, for families to recite and remember.

Joy Cowley knows what makes children laugh. In this book full of absurd poems and very short, silly stories, a man takes his tadpoles for a walk in his hat, a cat is surprised by its talking feet, a tiger gobbles up a dentist, ten baggy clowns do a do-wacky dance . . . along with many more preposterous flights of imagination. Each fantastical suggestion is playfully expanded in the illustrations of David Barrow—a first-rate visual comedian. Cowley channels the spirit of classic silly humorists Spike Milligan, Edward Lear, and Ogden Nash in this exuberant collection for the family that emboldens us to experiment with language and play.

Creators

Joy Cowley lives in New Zealand, and her books are loved by children all around the world. She was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018.

David Barrow has an MA from the Cambridge School of Art, where he now teaches. His first book Have You Seen Elephant? was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize and is a bestseller around the world.

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