(4) PS Illustrated by Charlotte Voake. Voake illustrates both Lear's classic poem and Donaldson's sequel to it; her eye-pleasing, loose-lined pen and watercolor style includes unique if somewhat head-scratching details (e.g., the green-skinned natives of the "land where the Bong-tree grows" in Edwardian-esque garb). Further Adventures's meter, made-up words, and nonsensical story line spun off from a sea voyage pay passable homage to Lear. Review covers these titles: The Further Adventures of The Owl and the Pussy-Cat and The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Fred Marcellino. Three great nonsense rhymes by the inimitable Edward Lear--"The New Vestments," "The Owl and the Pussycat," and "The Pelican Chorus"--are accompanied by wildly comic illustrations, uniquely suited to the poems' content and era. The title poem is especially well done, with the pelicans as stuffy Victorian parents giving a coming-out ball for their daughter on the banks of the Nile. For lovers of Lear, a great treat.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1995

(3) PS Folk Tale Classic series. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. In this inexpensive paper-over-board reissue, Galdone straightforwardly interprets Lear's nonsense poem in unassuming pictures that provide just enough embellishment. His lighthearted scenes bring a modern sensibility to the classic verse.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Calef Brown. Selected by Daniel Pinkwater. Two admirers of Lear--Pinkwater and Brown--pay homage to the sultan of silliness in this oversized collection of ten poems. A brief introduction to the poet sets the stage for the nonsense verse, including "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "The Quangle Wangle's Hat." Illustrations with a folk-art quality are saturated with color and reveal an imagination as ebullient and expansive as Lear's.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) PS Illustrated by Jane Wattenberg. Wattenberg sets Lear's famous poem--a duck eager for exploration begs a kangaroo for a ride--to Photoshopped images that mesh original photos with a sampling of naturalist paintings. The brightly colored result doesn't quite achieve cohesion or accessibility, but it's a trippy ride evoking the whimsy of the piece. Brief notes about Lear and the book's art are included.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. In a sophisticated visual interpretation of Lear's classic poem, an owl and a pussycat flee to a land where their romance is cause for celebration rather than separation. Inspired by varied sources including Lear himself and the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, the artist's mixed-media illustrations stay true to the text's playful spirit even as they lend provocative multivalence to them.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) PS Illustrated by Anne Mortimer. A feathery owl and a soft furry cat go to sea in this rendering of Lear's poem. The illustrations are tactile and full of details, from seals, cormorants, and sea horses in the ocean to curling ferns, insects, and orchids on land. Attractive as they are, however, the pictures lack the whimsy one would expect to accompany this nonsense verse.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) PS Illustrated by Louise Voce. Young listeners will enjoy Lear's poem about the lonesome Quangle Wangle whose large hat attracts numerous creatures looking for a home ("And the Golden Grouse came there, / And the Pobble who has no toes, / And the small Olympian bear, / And the Dong with a luminous nose"). Voce's illustrations of the wide-eyed, smiling animals suit the nonsensical mood.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Valorie Fisher. "There was an old man of Dumbree, / Who taught little owls to drink tea." Fisher combines objects, etchings, and other media to create tableaux as nonsensical as those described in the fifteen Lear poems collected here. Fisher's blend of reality with fantasy produces surreal scenes that adult readers may find pleasantly reminiscent of Monty Python. The book concludes with a biographical note on Lear.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) PS Illustrated by Anne Wilson. In this version of Lear's classic poem, the sprightly Owl and Pussycat begin their journey on a beach with a row of multicolored houses on stilts. Their destination--"the land where the Bong-tree grows"--has an equally playful array of abstract trees. With their pleasing colors and compositions, Wilson's whimsical paper collages complement the poem's nonsense.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Hilary Knight. Knight imagines Lear's nonsense verse about the romance between a seafaring Owl and Pussy-cat as an elaborately staged story that the theatrically inclined Professor Comfort involves his company in. As the Professor reads the verses, his young guests, an owlish boy and a kittenish girl, transform into the fowl and feline of the verse. Detailed watercolor and pencil pictures exude charm and energy.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS Illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky. A fresh interpretation of Lear's classic nonsense alphabet places each letter's subject (a jar of jam for J, an owl for O, etc.) and the accompanying text blocks against a screen of intensely dazzling color. Despite the pared-down collage pictures, the pages ooze energy; a few exceptions feature a staid design, but overall, nonsense has never looked so hip.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(1) PS Illustrated by James Marshall. Lear's famous poem receives an irreverent, gently playful rendition. A cruise ship escorts the Owl and his fiancée, the profoundly clothes-conscious Pussycat, from Pier 23, laden with suitcases marked for ports of call around the world. In an afterword, Maurice Sendak is exactly right when he pronounces that, with this last book, Marshall's "charming slap-happiness [is] now wed to an odd poignancy that conjure[s] a sweet new essence."

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999