A Lot of Silly (Joy Cowley, illus David Barrow, Gecko)

A Lot of Silly is a collection of poems and short stories for young children by the prolific Aotearoa New Zealand writer Joy Cowley (Good Night, Good Beach), who has won the (NZ) Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement, recognising her contribution to literature. A Lot of Silly collects the best old and new poems and humorous stories from her career of over 30 years. Reminiscent of works by Spike Milligan, Shel Silverstein and Edward Lear, Cowley’s poems delight in a world of nonsense, with silly rhymes and rhythms about itchy ibises, alligator chefs, sharks in baths, cats with talking feet, and more. Using clear rhymes that will be fun to read aloud, Cowley has crafted a collection that has merit both at home and in the classroom, with rhymes playing with early language and sentence structures and encouraging the most absurd of imaginations. These ideas combined promote a sense of fun in language and reading aloud, although this doesn’t necessarily foster a view of poetry broader than sheer nonsense. As a starter text for poetry and rhymes, Cowley’s collection demonstrates that poetry doesn’t have to be serious or grounded in reality. However, while they maintain the absurdism, I found the stories lost some of the established rhythm and rhyme, sitting a little awkwardly in the collection. David Barrow’s watercolour illustrations add a warmth to the whimsical text, especially with so many cats and other creatures. For ages 4+.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Clare Millar is a writer, editor and children's bookseller. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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Category: Reviews