Best Selling Books by Colin West

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

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

A small frog must hop on bigger and bigger animals to be heard by the giraffe.

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.

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.

A woman gives her love a series of animals, from tabby cat to talking crow, all of whom show up at her wedding dressed in the fine things her love has made for them.

In the first of these two stories, Moose picks up some fallen apples in the garden before making a nice lunch for Mouse. Unfortunately, he leaves both the bags on Mouse''s doorstep! In the second story, Moose and Mouse decide to go camping. But, as it is so dark, do they know where to pitch their tent?

As an elephant is joined by others, one at a time, the reader may count from one to ten.

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.

Relates the humorous adventures of Monty, a very clumsy dog.

Starting with a butterfly, each successive animal sneezes louder until the elephant blows away the jungle.

Bumble-bee buzzes among the animals looking for a friend.

This jungle tale reads as a long joke, furnished with a hilarious punch line. A simple scenario is established, and the lively, repetitive text builds up to the satisfying end twist, which is guaranteed to tickle even the most reluctant reader.

Unable to find a dentist for the king''s toothache, Nurse Mary tries a baker, a town crier, and a sailor before the poor man gets relilef.

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?

The second set of four in this lively new series of comic strip novels for younger readers now available in paperback. Comix are aimed at 7-9 year olds, particularly though not exclusively boys, and children who find reading hard work. The subject matter is pacy and exciting and the main characters are usually boys, and there is plenty of action and dialogue to keep the story moving. Feisty heros and heroines use quick-thinking tactics to get them out of all kinds of scrapes and dilemmas. The series is aimed at developing reading ability and the text is integrated with illustrations using the comic strip conventions of speech bubbles, thought bubbles and sound effects. Established authors have written a variety of tales - adventure, science fiction and fantasy, comedy and football stories. All the titles have been illustrated by the best strip-cartoon artists around. The resulting combination is a visually-exciting series that should get any 7-9 year-old reading no matter how reluctant they have been to pick up a book in the past.

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/

Synopsis coming soon.......

The story of Katy who wants to be a knight, like her dad, and to fight dragons and save princesses every day. But she discovers one day that he isn''t a knight but washes the dishes in the castle kitchen. Nevertheless, Katy and her dad have an adventure on their way home from the castle.

Synopsis coming soon.......

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

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