I've read several illustrated versions of the Owl and the Pussycat, and hands-down, this one has the MOST GORGEOUS illustrations I've ever seen! My only complaint about this book is that it wasn't bigger, because the illustrations really do merit closer study (the dimensions of this book are relatively small, the pages are not paper, but cardboard, so this is a book designed to stand up to wear and tear from smaller kids, and these kinds of books usually tend to be smaller length and width-wise for easier handling by smaller hands)

There is not one single page that does not have beautiful illustrations. The feathers on the owl are individually-drawn, and the cat looks too adorable in her dress. The poem itself might be silly, but the illustrations really do bring the words to life.

The Owl and the Pussycat and other nonsense is a book of Edward Lear's eccentric and unique comic verse, published in 2012 to celebrate the bicentenary of the author's birth. It is lavishly illustrated with watercolour paintings by the Australian artist, Robert Ingpen. This is a happy combination, as Ingpen's depictions, based on Australian flora, seem to be a perfect fit for Lear's imagined Bong-tree Land.

Edward Lear was one of 20 children. He suffered from epilepsy, and had a very unhappy childhood as an unwanted member of the family. He was largely brought up by an elder sister who encouraged him to develop his artistic talent. Interestingly, Sarah, another sister of his, was also a talented artist and writer, though she is largely forgotten now. This edition of the book is dedicated to her memory. It includes seven of Edward Lear's most popular poems:

The Owl and the Pussycat
The Jumblies
The Dong with a Luminous Nose
The New Vestments
The Duck and the Kangaroo
Calico Pie and
How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear

It is perfectly possible to read Lear's verse in a standard collection of poetry, as words on the page without the aid of pictures. Perhaps this is how most of us remember reading him in childhood. Or perhaps you may remember them being read aloud, as hearing them aloud benefits the language enormously. I would defy anyone not to "hear" them in their head as they read. But there is another consideration with this particular book.

For those adults - and some children - who find Lear's eccentric descriptions all but impossible to visualise, these illustrations are not only very attractive but also a great help with interpretation. Lear's sing-song language is easy and repetitive, the sound of his verse and his imagery will delight young children, yet his ideas are sometimes so ludicrous as to be unimaginable. Can you see a "runcible spoon" in your mind's eye? Or "The Dong with a Luminous Nose"? I couldn't - even though in this case Lear gives a detailed description of him - until I looked at the illustrations.

"Far and few, far and few
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve."

We first hear this refrain in "The Jumblies", and it is then echoed in "The Dong with a Luminous Nose", a poignant and mournful verse. Sad though it is, it is probably my personal favourite. Perhaps though, it is as well that it is followed by "The New Vestments"; such a silly piece of nonsense that it makes the reader laugh out loud. And small children will love the "rude" and funny picture in this book.

"How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear
Who has written such volumes of stuff!
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
But a few think him pleasant enough."

So where on earth did he get his odd ideas? What made him juxtapose such ridiculous items to make a more-or-less coherent whole? The answer seem to be that, in common with many comedians throughout history, he was trying to escape his own unhappiness. He started out as a draughtsman for the Zoological Society of London, making drawings of rare birds and animals. Some of his beautiful bird paintings from this time are included in the books. He entertained his employer's children with his drawings and invented nonsense rhymes, to which they showed,

"uproarious delight and welcome at the appearance of every new absurdity."

Imagine how welcome such approval must have been to a young man who had sadly experienced little of this in his life to date. He went on to travel throughout Europe, writing and illustrating guides to various places, and these came to the attention of Queen Victoria. She was so impressed that she promptly employed Edward Lear as her drawing master.

In 1870 he published his most famous poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, with which he found his perfect niche. To the end of his days he commented on the world around him in a nonsensical style, referring most revealingly once to,

"This ludicrously whirlygig life which one suffers from first and laughs at afterwards."

Even writing what amounts to his own obituary, with a letter sent to a friend shortly before his travels, he ends it, typically,

"Oh bother!"

The text of the letter is included in the book, as is a short biography of the author. Additionally there are contributions by the illustrator, Robert Ingpen. He has written a two-page botanical study entitled "Bong-tree land", styled very much in the tradition of the time, plus another two pages about Bong-tree Land itself, reading rather like a nonsensical travel guide, starting,

"Visitors to Bong-tree land must be prepared to travel by sea for a year and a day from almost any port in England."

Robert Ingpen has captured the essence and style of Edward Lear very nicely, and this provides an unexpected extra tribute to the author. Edward Lear has influenced a host of writers and comedians ever since, including Gilbert and Sullivan, A. A. Milne, Spike Milligan, The Goons, Dr. Seuss and Monty Python's Flying Circus. If you have a penchant for the ridiculous, don't make the mistake of thinking him outdated, and pass Edward Lear by - give him a try. Perhaps he wrote his own epitaph with the words,

"Nonsense is the breath of my nostrils."

This was a fun little nursery rhyme with beautiful artwork. Jan does not use her famous panels on the side, but we do see the Owl in the Pussycat in the boat most of the story and you can always see the two of them in the boat and then everything that is happening in the water with all the sea life. It creates a sense of wonder. The Owl and the Pussycat are going to get married and it’s the story of how they go about it. I would rather find a different ring than they found.

The nephew thought this book was funny. He asked, “why would a cat want to marry an owl? That’s weird.” He thought the story was funny and weird. He thought buying the ring out of the pigs nose was rather gross and funny too. He thought this story was odd, so he gave it 4 stars.

Okay, I really like a lot of authors and poets but no one else has won my appreciation in less than two minutes.

Wow. They're dressed way too fancy.
She’s way taller than that owl! Looks ridiculous to see a cat walking on two legs.
It says it’s a ‘beautiful pea-green boat’ but that’s a ship. Of course, I realized on the next page they called it a boat so it would rhyme with “note.”
‘they took some honey, and plenty of money.’ Oh boy. Bad rhyming.
Wow. Mice walking on two legs carrying luggage.
This makes me wince: “O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
what a beautiful Pussy you are,
you are!
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”
Pretty page, though. Nice green&blue colors and the stars reflected in the owl’s eyes.

Seeing that cat (I refuse to call her Pussy) wrapped up in that pink robe&kerchief while looking on sexily at the owl singing is so weird.
Then her swinging from the rigging with her skirts fanned out.

They sailed on that ship for a year and a day looking for a ring? And you stop on an island where a pig lives. I thought it was kinda odd to use the year and a day--obviously it sounds romantic--because it's generally used in historical novels, &was a tradition of handfasting, to stay with someone for a year and a day, and after that time, you can either get married or part ways.
oh, a bong-tree! sure, drop another word in here that sounds bad!
pussycats, bong-trees. I guess I'd expect no other kind of tree than a bong-tree in this perverse book.


‘&there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.’

Tell me they’re not getting this ring from this pig’s nose.
flips the page.
Yep, they are. They’re totally asking this pig for his nose ring.

Couldn’t you have stopped at a portside town and bought a ring??!
Their richness has oozed off the page from the very start.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.
-The pig’s lines should have been on the next line.
I thought the pig asked himself for his ring.
This pig’s ears are crazy. There's curls all around it.

Ah! So you do have money that could have been spent on a ring!
Wait, they boarded the ship loaded with “honey and money.” Now where’s their money at? Why couldn’t you buy a ring??

Married by a turkey. Well, she’s a cat, he’s an owl, a rat helped them board the ship, and they got their wedding ring from a pig’s nose. Why not get married by a turkey, who’s wearing pants with a hole for his tail?
I hope they disinfected that ring.

Seeing them sprawled out on the ground makes me uncomfortable. Like the concept of the book does. That wing peeking out of his sleeve looks like a lightweight, flimsy peacock feather painted gray. That is not the wing of an owl. &that thing couldn’t hold a spoon, much less fly this guy anywhere. But I guess he doesn’t fly. No, he walks everywhere like a man.
The word “runcible” should not be in a kid’s book. I don’t even know what that is!

I guess we should all be thankful this book just ended off with them dancing by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
Instead of their wedding night…
Can I get an Amen?

Some pages were pretty and done well. The pig looked weird. &let's point out the elephant in the room, or in this case the Pussy, this story is just weird. an owl and a cat? how does that work? kind of like in Shrek with donkey and the dragon...
hm. my, my, people like pairing animals together, don't they?
I love animals, but I don't like making animals into people &dressing them in clothes like people. It's just weird.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear

".. And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon."

I have always loved this poem of Lear's, and Brett does it a delightful justice in her illustrations. There are major colonial overtones to her illustrations, but all the characters are animals, so...do with it what you will. Would definitely read this to a child to introduce them to Lear's nonsense poem.

This review is specific to the Visions in Poetry edition with illustrations by Stephane Jorisch which has taken a classic poem and turned it into an contemporary piece about "finding true freedom and acceptance". Cleavage and disturbing creatures left me questioning why this is located in the children's section. His Jabberwocky was equally disturbing taking a fun nonsense poem and turning into nightmare material. Not for young children.

A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.

And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?

The thing I liked the most was realizing that one fish was following them the whole time (for more than a year) to wait for a chance to reunite with the fish they kept in a fish bowl. You can also see the fish on every page. It was fun backtracking with the students to check if our prediction was right and it was following them throughout the whole story.

It's impossible to tell here, but the specific edition I'm reviewing is The Owl & the Pussy-Cat & Other Nonsense by Edward Lear, with illustrations by Owen Wood (1978, Viking Press). It includes eight short verses by Lear in addition to TO&tPC. Wood's intricate illustrations are gorgeous, and invite return visits, as I have done many a time over the years. This was one of the books that my parents kept on their shelves, and I'm glad they did - it survived where some of our other childhood books did not always.

Update: I have now read the edition with illustrations by Stéphane Jorisch. I don't find them as pretty in style as Wood's, but I appreciate the emotional contrast they provide to the lightness of the poem.

This rendition of the children's poem The Owl and the Pussy Cat is so entertaining as the lovely pictures done by Jan Brett just bring it to life. I think young children would not only like the silliness of the poem but be fascinated by the beautiful pictures.