An Edward Lear Alphabet

Lear, Edward

ISBN 10: 0060281146 ISBN 13: 9780060281144

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

Pictures and nonsense verses introduce the letters of the alphabet

About this title

Review

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 colorful, 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. Readers who adore Lear and his joyful frivolity should also investigate the 1846 classic A Book of Nonsense, a rollicking, ridiculous poetic romp that no child or adult should be without. (Ages 3 to 6) --Karin Snelson

About the Author

Edward Lear, author of An Edward Lear Alphabet, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky, is the author of many collections of nonsense verse and is widely anthologized.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0060281146
• ISBN 13: 9780060281144
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Radunsky Vladimir