[.ca] Carnival of the Animals: Simple Arrangement for Piano (ISBN 3795755069)

From Amazon.com:
Philip de Vos's carnival of animals is full of malcontents and fiercely independent types: tortoises who waltz and cancan--but only in their dreams; lions who disdain sauerkraut and brussels sprouts; and rowdy, honky-tonker pianists. Fourteen poems document this motley crew, with a generous helping of Ogden Nash-esque nonsense and de Vos's own brand of quirky humor. Donkeys are immortalized thus: Consider now the donkey's lot. He'd love to be what he is not: wild and lusty, not so dusty, with a song that's not so rusty. Donkey hasn't any choice and mocks the world with his hee-haw voice. Each verse is complemented wittily by Piet Grobler's unique etchings in blues, golds, and rusts that, framed, could easily grace an offbeat nursery wall. The poems will most likely be enjoyed on two levels, as sophisticated humor often is: younger readers will delight in the silliness, while urbane adults will be drawn by the cultural references (19th-century composer Camille Saint-Saens is the "music man") and darker undertones (hints of death play around the edges of several of the verses--the tortoise "plods along, he plods along/ until his tortoise days are gone"). All in all, a captivating and memorable book. (Ages 5 and older) --Emilie Coulter

not really a children's book:
I agree with the previous reviewer in that the book seems a bit too sophisticated for a child to enjoy on his/her own. I bought it so I could read it to my 4 year old daughter. She loves books & is starting to read on her own. She was more interested in the poems than the illustrations. The colours arent bright enough for a child to be able to pick out all the details. I did like the language that the poems use, they flow well & the rhymes work well too.

Interesting Surreal Art & Amusing Poems:
ISBN: 1886910472. As a collector of children's illustrated books, I always keep an eye out for books that feature interesting and unusual artwork. Well, CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS definitely fits the bill for me since it offers some amusing and quirkly pictures to go along with the absurd poetry. Piet Grobler is an artist from South Africa, and this appears to be his first book offered in the United States. (He has another book coming out in September according to Amazon.com, DOCTOR ME DI CIN.) My only complaint is that I wish the illustrations were reproduced a little larger so you could enjoy the details more. This book is probably more for the collectors of children's books rather than children, although kids might enjoy some of the poems. Overall, a nice addition to my collection.