The Boy Who Became a Parrot: A Foolish Biography of Edward Lear, Who Invented Nonsense

Ages 6 to 12

Written with style and heart by Wolverton Hill and illustrated with whimsical art by Laura Carlin, this love letter to Edward Lear brings him wonderfully to life for young readers.

Edward Lear popularized the limerick as we know it and invented the modern literary genre of nonsense, made famous by Lewis Carroll. But did you know that as a teenager, he was a natural history artist on par with John J. Audubon? He has a memorial in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, placing him among the UK’s most important authors. Yet even still, Lear seems underappreciated. This picture-book biography will change all of that. Not only does it tell of what Lear did, it also shows who he was by conflating the naturalistic and nonsense, as Lear himself did, and by daring to be both fanciful and playful, for the facts of a life alone can never give you the full picture of a person.

Lear liked children and children liked Lear, for they shared an innate sense of play and silliness, as well as a tolerance for the absurd and unusual. As Lear understood so well, being silly isn't just about having fun, as a sense of play is foundational to a resilient life. And of course, nonsense as practiced by Lear was a sharp weapon of satire against rigid Victorian conformity.

Whether in his keenly observed work as a natural history painter or in his nonsense verse, Lear animated the world through a deep sense of empathy, and it is in this way that author Hill and illustrator Carlin deliver Lear to us. Rich backmatter includes some Lear poems and paintings, a chronology, and notes from the author and illustrator.

About the Author

Wolverton Hill is the nonsense twin of writer Barry Wolverton. He lives in the upper right hemisphere of Barry’s brain, on a small island in the middle of the woods with two chairs, half a candle, and a jug without a handle. For more foolishness, visit him at www.wolvertonhill.com. Laura Carlin is a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, where she won several awards, including the Sheila Robinson Drawing Prize, the Quentin Blake Award (twice), and the 2004 National Magazine Award. Her illustrations have been featured in Vogue, New Scientist, the Guardian, the Observer, the Sunday Telegraph, the Independent, the New Yorker, and the New York Times. She is the illustrator of The Promise and King of the Sky, which were both named New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year, as well as several other picture books. She lives in London.