New Releases by Colin West

A fantastic collection of children’s poetry which will appeal to fan’s of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and the silly verse of Spike Milligan Colin West’s new collection, Bonkers Ballads, contains a host of funny poems and accompanying colour illustrations sure to tickle your ribs and make you chuckle. Amongst the crazy characters are a seasick mermaid, an out-of-tune minstrel and a natty knight whose only concern is keeping his armour extra bright. And there is a mischivous fairy who loves practical jokes, a king with toothache and a very, very clever pig. Also included are a crafty witch, a feisty female pirate and a poor peasant who fashions himself a pair of fantastic boots which bring him fame and fortune. There’s even a pair of star-crossed lovers of Bingo, a wandering bear, a tabby cat who wears a hat and a whole bunch more in this fabulous book! Colin West’s fun poems are strong in rhyme and rhythm. There is not only magic and mayhem in these ballads, but great charm and warmth to balance the gruesome ends which some of the characters suffer. Colin has combined his love of history and poetry to create a memorable collection jam packed with fun to cause maximum merriment. The pages of Bonkers Ballads are embellished with over a hundred of his own witty illustrations. Colin’s poems have been widely anthologised in both Britain and America. Ken Nesbitt, the former U.S. Children’s Laureate has hailed Colin West ‘a master of the art of humorous poetry for children’. Poet Wendy Cope has said ‘Colin West has a considerable talent as a writer and an illustrator’. If you read this new collection you are likely to agree.

The Funniest Stuff contains over fifty funny poems with equally amusing illustrations created by Colin West. They cover an array of different subjects in a range of various verse forms, strong in rhyme and wordplay. There are crazy creatures like the Snoope and the Lolloping Lollop. There are eccentric characters like Uncle Norman, a traffic warden who likes to keep on his uniform, (even in bed), and Aunt Priscilla, who wrestles a wild gorilla. There are insights into the poet’s world, where Colin eschews personal questions in ‘Don’t Ask Me About Myself’, and gives vent to his feelings about airy-fairy writers in ‘O How I Hate the Poet!’ Black humour is in evidence in short pieces, such as the nature-loving Henrietta and the longer rollicking ballad, Fritz, who liked to frolic in the foothills but whose dreams were sadly crushed. There is even a pastiche of the early Victorian cautionary tale in ‘Belated Bertie’, about a boy who liked to play practical jokes. There is pure nonsense in ‘Under My Uncle’s Umbrella’ and a nod to concrete poetry in ‘I Used To Climb Up Lamp-posts, Sir’. The Funniest Stuff is brimming with humour, wit and charm and is sure to find your funny-bone and give it a good tickle! It will appeal to children aged 8-12.

Hailed as the master of comic verse, Colin West is funnier than ever in his latest side-splitting collection of 100 poems.

Herbs and Spices, my chives book, how best to use chives and how to grow chives, and some favorite recipes for cooking with chives.

Whether he''s waxing lyrical about washing up or declaiming about dodgem cars, Colin West has a way with words that makes the book hard to put down until you''ve reached the end

Although they are very different, Moose and Mouse are good friends.

Synopsis coming soon.......

Synopsis coming soon.......

This anthology oi nonserse rhymes on a range of silly topics will have children (and adults) rolling with laughter - ana all are illustrated in an absurdly appealing style. One example, Coaih anger, begins: "I gave my iova a ccaihar.ger. She flung it back ai me. I: aded like a boomerang, And hit her an the knee/

This anthology of 50 funny poems covers a range of silly topics all absurdly illustrated.

Toby wants to be a sailor, but all he has for a boat is an old tin tub. One day, Toby paddles far out to sea and is caught up in a terrible storm. Somehow his tiny tub survives, but Toby now finds himself in a very strange land - the home of a Sea Giant! But this giant isn''t scary, he''s sad and lonely; all the creatures in his kingdom are asleep and he can''t discover the sound needed to wake them up. Can Toby help him find out what it is?

Aimed at developing reading ability in children aged seven to nine, the comic strip novels in this series feature heros and heroines who use quick-thinking tactics to get them out of all scrapes and dilemmas. They are designed to bridge the gap between picture books and longer novels.

The closest relative of manThey say, is the orang-utan;And when I look at GrandpapaI realize how right they are!Jam-packed with the very best nonsense rhymes and tricky tongue-twisters, this wonderfully exuberant collection contains quirky, colour illustrations from Colin West and lashings of his wildly wacky verse! Divided into sections to satisfy nonsense-lovers everywhere, this brilliant bumper book will keep children in fits for hours and may inspire them to become rollicking rhyme-makers themselves! Chapters include: Curious Creatures, Tricky Tongue-twisters, Funny Folk, Moments with Monsters, Dotty Ditties, Vicious Verses, Hopeless History, Stories in Stanzas

Mr Potts smiled at the crowd. Hello everyone Welcome to the fool skate - I mean the school fete . Mr Potts was always in a muddle. He loved organising the St Egbert''s School fete, but maybe the fireworks display will turn out to be more than he bargained for.

A small frog hops from the ground onto bigger and bigger animals in order to be heard by a giraffe.

Various animals look for the cunning crocodile, not realizing he is right under their noses.

Monty, the dog who wears glasses, is about to be put through his paces - running relays, performing cartwheels and testing his sea legs - but when Monty tries his paw at sledging, he hasn''t a dog''s chance.

An anthology of 16 humorous, rhyming stories about a range of funny characters and their antics. Illustrated with colour cartoons.

Starting with ten little crocodiles clustered around a table, the reader counts down from ten to one as a crocodile is taken away in each picture.

It''s a dog''s life for Monty - being shown up in front of other dogs and getting the blame for disappearing biscuits - but the dog who wears glasses learns some useful disappearing tricks of his own, and proves, once and for all, that he really is magic

One of the stories featuring Monty, the dog who wears glasses. He goes to the wrong party, falls in the custard and causes a stir at the cinema. But in the end, he always seems to come out on top.

Monty the dog who wears glasses is up to his old tricks again. There are five Monty stories in this book.

A collection of poems selected by the author from his six books of poetry : grouped in sections to cover subjects as varied as scarecrows, toboggans, socks etc.

A collection of poems on a variety of topics ranging from farm animals to cakes.

A great big bullfrog realizes he is not so big compared to most of the other animals he meets.

A mischievous monkey causes trouble for all the other animals in the jungle but denies it to the end.