The Owl and the Pussycat

I have always loved this poem, but Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations make it a must have!

I love Edward Lear's story and James Marshall's illustrations are magical. I don't like the version with Jan Brett's illustrations. I've never liked Jan Brett's illustrations. I've spent hundreds of hours looking at children's books and I always pass over Jan Brett's books. Her illustrations just don't appeal to me. Her illustrations are distinctive and I can always recognize her work but I don't like them. There is just something missing--they don't have any life to them or something. I can't explain it. I have always loved James Marshall. His genius transcends understanding. His illustrations complement Ed Lear's beautiful tale perfectly.

I owned a lovely illustrated Little Golden Book version of The Owl and the Pussycat as a toddler. My mother read it to me countless times. After it had been put away in a safe place for 7 years, it somehow came up in a conversation between my mother and me, and we found we could still recite the whole thing. It's a great, highly rhythmic poem that MUST be read aloud.Now that I own an anthology of Edward Lear's work, my siblings and I have discovered the joy of Lear. We particularly enjoy the Jumblies ("their heads are green and their hands are blue and they went to see in a sieve"). Lear's work must be read aloud, with an audience, to be fully appreciated.However, note that, while Lear has some really delightful poems, much of his work for children consists of limericks, many of which are not particularly clever. After pages and pages of "there once was a somebody from somewhere who did something odd, that silly old somebody from somewhere", it gets a little old. However, they are silly, and younger children might enjoy them more than my brothers and sisters and I (age range 12 to 18) did.

What Lear has done with words is define the children's rhyme-tale. While The pictures are delightful, they are not the emphasis."Owl..." is so unique among children's literature. It is a story so innocent, so kind that imagination's are stirred and lessons in language are learned. It ranks with "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson.Buy the hardcover. You'll be re-reading it so often you'll want something sturdy.I recommend this book fully.Anthony Trendl

This childrens' favorite is equally popular with adults. The illustrations are colorful and mesmerize even the youngest. Familiar verses become preferred bedtime rhymes that evoke giggles from both reader and listener.