An Edward Lear Alphabet Book

An Edward Lear Alphabet was first published in 1871, illustrated with the King of Nonsense's own incongruously matter-of-fact pen-and-ink sketches. Evidently Lear composed this rhyming alphabet for some children he befriended in a hotel, leaving a poem a day on the family's breakfast table. "A was once an apple pie, / Pidy / Widy / Tidy / Pidy / Nice insidy / Apple pie," he begins jauntily. Kids will love repeating the verses out loud--"E was once a little eel, / Eely / Weely / Peely / Eely / Twirly tweely / Little eel"--particularly early readers just learning to sound out words. Vladimir Radunsky's modern, explosively colourful, rather Monty Python-like collages (reminiscent of Yucka Drucka Droni) complement Lear's simple verse remarkably well, considering the century-long-leap in style and attitude. These bold illustrations, many of which conjure a bald, bearded, bespectacled Lear, make the whimsical poet's verse all the more accessible. (Ages 3 to 6) --Karin SnelsonRead More