Editorial Review:
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From the benighted Old Man with a Beard to the erudite Perpendicular Purple Polly, Edward Lear's world is inhabited by a bewildering variety of oddities. One of the world's most loved writers, Lear's verse has delighted whole generations of readers. Here, after 140 years, is the original edition of A Book of Nonsense, from the original publishers. Complete with Lear's own remarkable illustrations, this treasure trove of nonsense is guaranteed to hold readers spellbound for generations more!
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Reader Reviews for A Book of Nonsense:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: Excellent, classic, but...
Comment: I'm going to review this briefly as a book for children, which is what it is. I read most of this to my 3-year-old (including all the limericks and most of the poems, and a little of the other stuff). As long as I didn't read it too often, my son was usually game for this. He liked it but he didn't love it to pieces. The nonsense and silliness certainly appeals to silly little kids, and why shouldn't it? And as far as I'm concerned, it's excellent, and deservedly considered classic children's lit., but frankly, I didn't think it was five-stars great. The conceits and poetry are not always exactly inspired, and the illustrations are pretty crude, although plenty entertaining.
"The Owl and the Pussycat" (which we've read many times) and some of the limericks are definitely five-star selections in any case.
At $5, this is a nice cheap edition. It would help if the pictures were in color, but I gather you're getting it closer to what was published in the 19th century here.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Where are the Pictures?
Comment: I am very disappointed in this book. When I looked at it on Amazon there were pictures. Why was it not mentioned that there were no pictures in this particular book?
Shame on you for misrepresenting this book. Now I have to return it and get one with Edward Lear's imaginative art work as well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Comment: I "bought" this book for Kindle. All I got when I tried to read the book was a list of numbers that didn't correspond to anything. I'm glad the book was free so I can delete this without being out anything.
Customer Rating:
Summary: sierra from P.A.
Comment: Stacy is wrong, anyone who has seen the spongebob epesode where he looks in other people's dreams will remember Gary's quoted poem "there once was a man from peru, who dreamed he was eating his shoe. The man awoke with a fright, in the middle of the night, to find that his dream had come true." and wanted to find works like it (myself, for one) will love this book.
I'm writing this for people who, like myself, have no idea what this book is about untill you read it, because of some idiot's belief that "this book has been formatted from it's origenal version..." is some magic phrase that tells us what the book is about.
This book has dozens of hilarious short stories in miniture peom form. Here is an example of some of my favorites.
"There was an old man of Quebec-- a beetle ran over his neck; But he cried "With a needle, I slay you O beadle!" That angry old man of Quebec."
"There was an old man with a poker, who painted his face a red ochre. When they said "You're a guy!", he made no reply, But knocked them all down with his poker."
and my favorite of them all, which any spongebob fan would love, "There was an old man of Peru, who watched his wife make stew; but once, by mistale, in a stove she did bake, that unfortunate man of Peru."
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wish the pictures were included.
Comment: As a graduate student in history, I know that the Edward Lear original included hilarious illustrations that make this work even better and, therefore, the reading more enjoyable. The poems are fun but it would have been nice if it included the pictures.
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