Thank you to Faye Rogers for inviting me on another brilliant blog tour, I think this book is a real treasure that youngsters will adore.
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea, in a box on the living room floor. They sailed away for a year and a day and these are the things that they saw…Join two curious children on their quirky adventure, loosely based on the classic Edward Lear poem, The Owl and the Pussycat.
As soon as I saw the title I instantly recited the classic poem of ‘The Owl and The Pussycat’ by Edward Lear, only until now I’ve realised how quite bizarre the poem was.
Anyhow, from the beautiful illustrations created by Charlotte Cooke I knew I had to grab at the chance to be part of this blog tour.
This picture book introduces children to all kinds of animals that we would come across in the sea, from octopuses, to cod fishes. From sitting in a box in the living room to imagining an adventure out at sea makes me think of the make shift play “set ups” I would have as a kid, like making a tent in the living room between two chairs. I think this image sets up the kind of old school activities kids would do using their imagination only, rather than being plugged into a tablet device that gives them all the imagination already.
It was a really fun read, with lots of brilliant comical rhyming and I just know that this is a wonderful story to be shared with children. The illustrations are exciting and the way the writing curls around the waves makes it feel like you’re on a boat as you read it, and I think this is great for sparking children’s imaginations.
A really terrific read on a classic poem that has been brought to life by these vibrant and fun illustrations, I’m definitely keeping this for my future children or even nieces and nephew’s.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“I have worked as a poet and performer for many years and I’m proud to have my work featured in Favourite Poets (Hodder). I have three published poetry collections of my own and have contributed to more than 150 anthologies. I am also one of the writers of the popular Cbeebies programmes ‘Poetry Pie’ and ‘The Rhyme Rocket’. I have given workshops in some fairly unusual venues as well…the grandest of which being Buckingham Palace!”
“I was thrilled and proud when my picture book The Adventures of the Owl & the Pussycat was highly commended for the Macmillan Children’s Prize in 2010. Since then I have gone on to illustrate many other picture books and I enjoy making the occasional card too. When I’m not in my studio I’m usually outside running or playing referee to my two kids.”
