The Gobbledegook Book: A Joy Cowley Anthology

'Beware of the jungle in the garden – a cat is lurking there / Between the tomatoes and the rhubarb, she’s made herself a lair / Feel pity for the garden rat who wanders out and sees / unblinking eyes and rows of teeth behind the row of peas…'

Whether it’s a poem about the ogre Gobbler Magoo who abducts a woman to make him stew, a mean cat called Jaws or a whole poem devoted to the wonders of a vest worn by an uncle, Cowley’s poems are zany, original and full of delicious language. Giselle Clarkson’s illustration (reminiscent of Quentin Blake) is a perfect accompaniment to the poems, lending them even more expression and fun.

Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand’s most popular children’s writers and this delightful volume is a perfect introduction to her poems, if you haven’t read them before. If you liked Chris Riddell and Michael Rosen’s A Great Big Cuddle, you’ll love this.