The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

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Edward Lear's classic children's poem, originally included in his 1871 collection, Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, is here presented in picture-book form, with lovely watercolor illustrations by Charlotte Voake. As the story unfolds, the titular strigine and feline heroes head to sea in a pea-green boat, serenading and then proposing to one another, before wedding in a tropical paradise. The poem concludes as the happy pair dances by the light of the moon... That friend, of 30 years standing, was Attenborough: “I was at his house for dinner and I said ‘That’s the most beautiful painting of a possum I’ve ever seen. Who did it?’ And he said it was Edward Lear, and that nobody knows he was also an amazing and very important painter in natural history subjects. Humphrey Searle in 1951, using twelve-tone technique for the accompanying flute, guitar, and cello, but sprechgesang for the vocal part [5] Details of the 45 rpm record of Elton Hayes' recordings of Edward Lear songs". 45cat.com/ . Retrieved 7 October 2011.

It was the main topic of The Owl and the Pussycat Went to See..., a 1968 children's musical play about Lear's nonsense poems. The play was written by Sheila Ruskin and David Wood. [6] When a story is short; I enjoy acquainting its authors, artists, and origin. I had never heard of “ The Owl And The Pussycat”, nor of Edward Lear. His inspiration for this odd titular pairing is as whimsical, as it is an enlightening explanation for quite a suite of factors that of course, are nonsense. Small birds are prey to cats, owls can carry small cats, and animals do not marry ceremoniously; never mind mingling species. It is a treat to learn from whence this came. I obtained it recently in a country thrift store, as a 1984 Canadian retelling by Canadian artist, Ron Berg. 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. Turning this poem into a part of a story about two children and their imaginative play, or fantasy land, however the reader wants to interpret it, makes it so much fun, and less weird. Frankly, it is a bit of a strange poem when it’s put out there on its own. The nonsense poetry has some lovely lines although some of the language has certainly dated and could be considered a tad risqué these days (“Oh lovely pussy” etc) however its main audience is unlikely to be aware of any such double entendtres at their age. The book could be used as an example of rhyming poetry although I do find the rhythm structure of some of the verses to be a little awkward.Portions of an unfinished sequel, "The Children of the Owl and the Pussy-cat" were published first posthumously, during 1938. The children are part fowl and part cat, and love to eat mice. The Owl and the Pussycat is a classic nonsense poem by Edward Lear, and has long been one of my favourite books since I was a young child. There are many versions of the poem with different illustrations, but they are always beautiful to look at and really engaging for young readers. The poem is a love story between two anthropomorphic characters, the owl and the pussycat, and follows them as they get engaged and search for a ring. We meet various other silly characters throughout the poem, and none of it really makes any sense, which I think adds to its charm. The illustrations are spectacular. They’re intricate and engaging and really help tell the story. There are many amusing and sweet touches. [Hilary Knight:], who illustrated the [Eloise:] books, and whose work I’ve always enjoyed, does a magnificent job here, and his art style in this book seems somewhat different from other art by him that I’ve seen. It’s easy to spend a lot of time looking at all the pictures; readers are likely to notice something new with each viewing. Visitors to Bong-tree land must be prepared to travel by sea for a year and a day from almost any port in England." The Owl and the Pussy-cat" features four anthropomorphic animals – an owl, a cat, a pig, and a turkey – and tells the story of the love between the title characters who marry in the land "where the Bong-tree grows".

Lear’s portrait of a cat. Photograph: Private Collection, promised gift to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Most of the scientific illustration of that day, by other artists, was very stiff and essentially done from dead specimens. Lear insisted, whenever he possibly could, to work from live specimens. They are real character and personality portraits, as well as depictions of that species – you feel you’re meeting another living creature, that he saw very much on a human scale,” he said. Lear’s talent for illustration emerged at a young age: his first published work, when he was just 19 years old, was not a collection of poetry but an illustrated monograph on parrots that he had seen at London Zoo. Stevens, Denis (1970). A History of Song. Vol.The Norton Library 536. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 179. ISBN 0393005364. . Jan Brett's illustrations, as always are colorful, well-rendered and quite lovely; and, as usual, somewhat jarring. That's what makes them so perfect for Edward Lear. Edward Lear's writings fall somewhere between Beatrix Potter and Hilaire Belloc. I didn't give it the full 5 stars because the way the text is broken up across spreads makes it difficult to read the poem with any kind of flow, and because some of Brett's admittedly gorgeous illustrations could (and perhaps should) have had more of a connection to the text. For one notable example -- there's no pot of honey on the boat, and we never get a look at the money wrapped up in the five-pound note!

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. SEVEN AGES - An Anthology of Poetry with Music - NA218912". www.naxos.com . Retrieved 23 March 2020. 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, I remember this poem from my childhood, but it was not one of my favorites. However, this edition makes it shine. The story within the story really makes it work. There’s also sheet music included in the front of the book, composed by Douglas Colby. In 1996, Eric Idle published a children's novel, The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat, based on the poem. Idle's narriation of the audiobook was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.

The family live by places with strange names. The Cat dies, falling from a tall tree, leaving the Owl a single parent. The death causes the Owl great sadness. The money is all spent, but the Owl still sings to the original guitar. [2] Derivative works [ edit ] And every time I saw him after that he would say: ‘Lear’s such an interesting character, and no one’s done a book on this subject, and I think you’re the right one to do it.’ And so it was David who encouraged me to write this book.” The Owl and the Pussy Cat’ is the much loved children’s classic written by Edward Lear and the version I found in my library contains updated illustrations by Louise Voce. It follows the whimsical journey of the eponymous duo as they set to sea, get engaged and search for a ring.

They’re called classics for a reason. You know them, you’ve heard of them and some quite frankly I haven’t heard at all, but I assume there still classics to someone. Before reading this book I never considered nonsense poems or the closely related nursery rhymes to be a form of poetry but upon reflection they are quintessentially poems, matching all the characteristics of traditional poems but in their own nonsensical way. I must admit this is not the typical book for me to read, however I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of the poems outlined in the book. Lucy Larcom, ed. (February 1870). "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat". Our Young Folks. VI (II): 111–112 . Retrieved 5 August 2022. Even writing what amounts to his own obituary, with a letter sent to a friend shortly before his travels, he ends it, typically, First published in America in February 1870, Edward Lear’s much loved rhyme of the owl and the pussy-cat appeared in England in time for Christmas 1870 as the opening song in Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets (London: Robert John Bush, 1871). Beatrix Potter's father, Rupert, presented her with a copy of Lear's book as a Christmas present when she was four years old; it became a childhood favourite. The pictures overflow with detail, to the point where there's even a sub-story (pardon the pun) involving two yellow fish.