Customer Reviews

The Owl and the Pussycat

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spectacularly beautiful illustrations make this book a joy. The familiar poem has a gently rocking rhythm, and the pictures have a flow of their own. My 18-month-old daughter likes to find the flower, the yellow fish, the cat and the owl on each page. The quiet familiarity of the poem calms her down during the nighttime crazies (that spurt of energy toddlers get just before they collapse into a puddle). I recommend this book for a soothing, visually delightful experience.

I have to speak out in favor of Jan Brett's illustrations, in light of the reviewer below who criticizes them. This book is one of my all-time favorites because of the illustrations. They are what makes the story. I don't like Brett's other illustrated books (The Mitten, and one other that escapes me) but not because of the illustrations, it's because of the stories. Brett's illustration of this time-honored nonsense poem invokes the 19th century on an unnamed carribean island. Each page is rich with color and contains such exquisite detail that with each reading you notice something new. (There is even a "sub-plot" which I will leave it to you to discover ...it took me months to notice it.) My daughter has been mesmerized by the drawings since we started reading it when she was 7 months old. I heartily recommend this version.

I have always loved this rhyme, and when I found a version illustrated by Jan Brett, I knew that for me this would be the definitive version. Jan Brett's illustrations bring the Caribbean Islands to life right in front of your eyes. The cat with her headscarf, the beautiful tropical fish in the borders, the lush vegetation, this is so richly illustrated that you can look at the pages over and over again. And if you tire of the Owl and the Pussycat, there's always the story told in the borders to provide a change.

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT is a delightful book. If you have never read Edward Lear's poem, you are in for a treat. Edward Lear has a delightful gift for rhythm and rhyme.

Illustrator Jan Brett has made this edition an especially fine one for children. The pictures have an extraordinary level of detail to them, and the color choices are brilliant. Each picture is two pages wide, and filled with objects we can look at and name. My baby has enjoyed looking at this one since the day we bought it.

I think our 22-month-old friend enjoys THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT because he can chime in with the words at the end of each line. I think the rhyme helps him remember what word comes next. He loves the book, too, and has asked to read it over and over.

When reading with my 10 month old, the story starts before the title page. Brett creates a little "before" story in two pictures, with the owl coming to find the pussycat and persuading her to go to sea with him. Another delightful touch is that Brett draws animals and plants under the water. Each page introduces a new character in the sea, so that by the end there are many fish and a turtle all following the boat beneath the water. A yellow fish that we see in a bowl next to the pussycat at the very beginning eventually leaps out to join another yellow fish in the sea.

Edward Lear's classic poem and Brett's setting of the story in lush, tropical paradise are charming, and much enjoyed by both children and adults at our house.

This poem needs no introduction and when paired with the colorful drawings by Jan Brett it becomes a book every child should have in their collection.

Brett's drawings are carribean infused, with lots of colorful houses, fanciful sealife and tropical fruits to delight your children.

My kids (and I) all know this poem by heart from reading this book so often.

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

This is one of my favorite all-time books. I have always loved the story. My mother recited it so often that it was one of the first things I memorized. It's whimsical, sweet and has interesting characters and locations. When I found this edition with Jan Brett's illustrations, I was captivated. I have read it to my four children over and over again, and I always find a new detail that I missed before. Wonderful book!!!

This edition of the Edward Lear poem is lushly illustrated by the renowned Jan Brett, who produced the charming illustrations in "The Mitten." The title characters are depicted in a way which, though rather anthropomorpic, is never condescending. The color and detail are superb - worthy of lingering over. This book is delightful for both children and adults who can appreciate the considerable talent of the artist.

This book is just so cool. Longing for a trip to the tropics? Read this version of the book to your little one and you can at least feel like you are there. The illustrations are really sweet. They have a lot of details so that kids kind find new things with each reading. My two-year old loves this book. It is a great twist on an old tale

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