New Releases by Colin West

Batty Ballads is a crazy collection of funny story-poems with many full colour illustrations by Colin West himself. The characters you can meet include Freda, a flat-footed fairy, a dirty cowboy called Bert, King Neptune's naughty nephew, and young Gordon Glass, the boy who ignored notices.

Barmy Balladsis a beautifully produced hardback collection of humorous poetry, introducing a wonderful array of crazy characters. Meet a nutty knight, a naughty witch, a smelly pirate, a not-very-jolly jester, a child genius, a hungry giant, a clever donkey, an invisible mischief-maker and many more. There is also a full supporting cast, including a crafty wizard, a lovesick fisherman, a helpful octopus, a hip hop drummer, seven washerwomen, a gang of bank robbers, a fiery dragon or two, not to mention the Queen of Spain and the old kitchen sink! Best-selling poet Roger McGough hailed Colin's previous collection, Bonkers Ballads, as a "cracking book" and now Colin is back with a whole new bunch of ballads even bigger and barmier than before. "Barmy, brilliant and absurd - Colin West's mastery of witty improbabilities in rhyme, combined with the quirky charm of his illustrations, makes this book irresistible." Liz Brownlee (National Poetry Day Ambassador for the Forward Arts Foundation)

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.

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

Synopsis coming soon.......

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.

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

When we found Granddad's old bicycle in the shed, we had lots of fun making it work again. When we took it for a ride, Granddad discovered the bike of his dreams.

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

Bumblebee buzzes around bothering everyone until he comes to a gentle butterfly who understands that the busy bee is looking for someone to be his friend.

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

Every morning, Katy's dad puts on his armour and sets off for the castle. Every evening, he tells Katy about his day, fighting dragons. It sounds so exciting that one day, Katy decides to go with him - and gets a big surprise

Three stories about Monty are presented together in this collection: "Monty, the Dog who Wears Glasses", "Monty Bites Back", and "Monty Must be 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.

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

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