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The Quangle Wangle's Hat - Edward Lear's Little Books of Nonsense
Climb to the top of the Crumppetty Tree and meet a Blue Baboon, a Fimble Fowl, a Dong with a luminous nose - and, of course, the Quangle Wangle in his huge and lovely Hat!
24 pages, Hardcover
First published January 25, 1876
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
February 11, 2020
Louise Voce's illustrations enhance what is a rhyming story with an extra large hat and a strange and motley collection of creatures; it certainly fits Edward Lear's 'Nonsense Verse' where it first appeared.
The Quangle Wangle sits in his Crumpetty Tree wearing an oversized Beaver Hat, said to be 'one hundred and two feet wide'. It is so large the QW's face can not be seen. A whole host of creatures including the more normal ones such as Mr and Mrs Canary, a stork, a duck, an owl, a bumble been, a frog and a fimble fowl, come to live on his Beaver Hat.
They are joined by a blue baboon, an orient calf, an attery squash and a bisky bat and the QW realises, apart from his Hat being crowded, that they will make such a noise when they move about. And move about they do, for they dance around as the blue baboon plays the flute by the light of the Mulberry Moon.
The good thing is that at the end of it all with all this merriment they are all happy with the Quangle Wangle Quee!
Silly though it is, I feel sure that read aloud it would amuse the children.
The Quangle Wangle sits in his Crumpetty Tree wearing an oversized Beaver Hat, said to be 'one hundred and two feet wide'. It is so large the QW's face can not be seen. A whole host of creatures including the more normal ones such as Mr and Mrs Canary, a stork, a duck, an owl, a bumble been, a frog and a fimble fowl, come to live on his Beaver Hat.
They are joined by a blue baboon, an orient calf, an attery squash and a bisky bat and the QW realises, apart from his Hat being crowded, that they will make such a noise when they move about. And move about they do, for they dance around as the blue baboon plays the flute by the light of the Mulberry Moon.
The good thing is that at the end of it all with all this merriment they are all happy with the Quangle Wangle Quee!
Silly though it is, I feel sure that read aloud it would amuse the children.
August 2, 2016
Jam and Jelly and bread. Yum! Cute poem!
February 10, 2020
A strange rhyming story about a ridiculously big hat and a bunch of mostly made up creatures that come to live on it...?
We read this for the 1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up list.
We read this for the 1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up list.
April 16, 2013
The Quangle Wangle Quee sat on top of the Crumpetty Tree, but you could not see his face because of his hundred and two feet wide Beaver Hat.
The Quangle Wangle gets visited by an array of imaginary beasts such as a pobble who has not toes and loves to dance on the hat of the Quangle Wangle Quee.
This book is almost like a nonsense rhyme but allows for great imagination.
It is great for reading aloud and asking children to draw what they think the animals look like.
I would recommend this book for children up to and including Yr2, as it can be easily utilised across the curriculum e.g. expressive art, English, geography.
The Quangle Wangle gets visited by an array of imaginary beasts such as a pobble who has not toes and loves to dance on the hat of the Quangle Wangle Quee.
This book is almost like a nonsense rhyme but allows for great imagination.
It is great for reading aloud and asking children to draw what they think the animals look like.
I would recommend this book for children up to and including Yr2, as it can be easily utilised across the curriculum e.g. expressive art, English, geography.
December 9, 2011
Of course this book has Edward Lear's wonderful nonsense rhyme full of crumpetty trees, ribbons and bibbons, and fimble fowls, but I don't think this version comes up to the magic of Helen Oxenbury's award winning 1970 version. Still, toddlers don't know that and I'm sure they'd be charmed by the funny silly verse and more than happy with the pictures.
November 7, 2018
This was one of five books we brought on a two week vacation and Ori and I enjoyed reading it every night, proving that poetry is magic. The pobble with no toes is my favorite creature; my daughter seems to find the dong with the luminous nose, the fimble fowl and the owl hilarious. The Quangle Wangle has the best dance parties.
November 3, 2017
I read the version with illustrations by Janet Stevens. The poem is just ok. There are a lot of interesting creatures but it doesn’t do much more than list them. The illustrations though do a great job of bringing these inventive creatures to life and make it worth a read.
November 26, 2017
A fun book with rhyming and lots of colorful illustrations!
October 21, 2019
A brilliant fun classic children’s book. Read to me by my grandma Everytime I went to her house as a child. Love this book.
July 29, 2020
I read this before and forgot to make it as read. I enjoyed a chance to revisit the silly story and see ithe adorable illustrations.
May 2, 2021
3.5 stars. Watched on YouTube
A fun rhyming book with a lot of “nonsense” words, much like Dr Seuss- and a happy ending with the Quangle Wangle having a lot of friends
A fun rhyming book with a lot of “nonsense” words, much like Dr Seuss- and a happy ending with the Quangle Wangle having a lot of friends
October 5, 2021
great to read suggested children's books. The illustrations are great!
April 3, 2022
This rating is for the edition illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
November 8, 2023
The illustrations of the animals was cute.
April 27, 2012
This picture book uses the text of the classic nonsense poem by Edward Lear. The Quangle Wangle Quee sits atop the Crumpetty Tree in his enormous hat. He lives on jam and jelly and bread, but he’s very lonely. Soon, however, Mr. and Mrs. Canary arrive and beg to build their home on the Quangle Wangle’s hat. He consents and the birds are followed by a parade of animals, from the Stork to the Frog, to the imaginary Pobble with no toes and the Fimble Fowl with the corkscrew leg. That night by the light of the Mulberry Moon the animals dance to the flute music of the Blue Baboon and were as happy as happy could be.
Lear’s rhyming poetry is full of nonsense words that just beg to be read aloud. Voce’s whimsical illustrations are placed in a coastal or island location. Although the passage of time is only mentioned at the end of the poem, Voce sets the time frame of the poem within one day. You can follow the progress of the day by looking at the sky and the lighting of each page, from orangey dawn to blue sky afternoon to a purple night lit by the Mulberry moon.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
Lear’s rhyming poetry is full of nonsense words that just beg to be read aloud. Voce’s whimsical illustrations are placed in a coastal or island location. Although the passage of time is only mentioned at the end of the poem, Voce sets the time frame of the poem within one day. You can follow the progress of the day by looking at the sky and the lighting of each page, from orangey dawn to blue sky afternoon to a purple night lit by the Mulberry moon.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
December 4, 2012
The book is very cute for young children. It has a lot of ridiculous rhymes. The main character is Quangle Wangle. The book introduces characters such as a stork and a squash, and several other creative characters. The book is not realistic and very fictional and it reminded me of Dr. Seuss. The animals want to build homes on top of Quangle Wangle’s hat. The animals all join together and built a home on top of his hat. When night comes they all dance to the flute of the Crumpity tree and the book ends with all of the animals being as happy as can be. Some of the vocabulary is for older children. But, the silly rhymes in this book is great for keeping the attention of young children. I would recommend it to be read to children 3-6 years old.
January 8, 2016
This is a lovely book, although it's old (published 1969), its satisfying rhythm and rhyme and general silliness is timeless. I think the illustrations by Helen Oxenbury are also excellent, and the use of different mark-making and repeated patterns could be explored further in Art. This book could be used as part of a unit exploring poetry and language, because it has a lot of made up words and rhythms within, which shows children the freedom you have as an author. Children could compare this poem with other poems, thinking about the choice of real and made up words. I think books like this are important in showing how you can play with language and artwork to create a classic.
May 1, 2010
Summary:
It tells the story of a creature called the Quangle Wangle that lives on the top of a Crumpetty Tree and wears a very large hat. The Quangle Wangle is lonely until a conglomeration of creatures with silly names and attributes come to build their houses on his hat. The text is silly mixing real and made-up words. It is a fun, cute story. This book is an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award Winner.
Theme: It could be a good intro to a lesson on rhymes
Curricular Use: Read Aloud
Level: K-2
Illustrations: The pictures are colorful and illustrate the story well.
It tells the story of a creature called the Quangle Wangle that lives on the top of a Crumpetty Tree and wears a very large hat. The Quangle Wangle is lonely until a conglomeration of creatures with silly names and attributes come to build their houses on his hat. The text is silly mixing real and made-up words. It is a fun, cute story. This book is an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award Winner.
Theme: It could be a good intro to a lesson on rhymes
Curricular Use: Read Aloud
Level: K-2
Illustrations: The pictures are colorful and illustrate the story well.
March 5, 2020
1001 Children's Books list
Age group: 3+
Their list: 38/1001
My list: 38/1001
Why they say you should read it? Famous in the nineteenth century for his limericks that he helped popularize.
The book is about a lonely...creature that lets a host of animals build a home in his huge, decorated hat because he's lonely. Suddenly, he's not lonely and life is good. It's not Lear's story that's as intriguing as his nonsense limericks.
My kids thoughts? They had a blast putting together their own nonsense words.
Age group: 3+
Their list: 38/1001
My list: 38/1001
Why they say you should read it? Famous in the nineteenth century for his limericks that he helped popularize.
The book is about a lonely...creature that lets a host of animals build a home in his huge, decorated hat because he's lonely. Suddenly, he's not lonely and life is good. It's not Lear's story that's as intriguing as his nonsense limericks.
My kids thoughts? They had a blast putting together their own nonsense words.
June 4, 2010
An old-school poem gets a fresh face with Voce's lush illustrations. What a fun book to introduce reluctant readers to poetry. With fun, Dr-Seuss like animals, and an easily identifiable theme, this one hits the spot.
July 14, 2010
Nicely illustrated, but I can't say it was one of my favorites. All the "Qu"'s in the book made it a little of a not-so-fun tongue twister and there wasn't a lot of interesting things in it (although my son loved it more than me).
October 8, 2011
This was a really fun, colorful, children's book that I really wish I'd discovered when my kids were little. I really think they'd have enjoyed it a lot and it very well could have been one of their favorites.
October 14, 2011
Edward Lear has produced yet another rediculous (in a good way) book that children are sure to love. The nonsence words and the disorienting illustrations are sure to intrigue your child for multiple reads.
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August 13, 2012Edward Lear's verse is brought to life by Louise Voce's illustrations. Share this one with younger readers looking for connecting poets/poems to modern masters like Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, J. Patrick Lewis, and a host of others.
February 21, 2016
Few can turn out a rhyme like Edward Lear (of the Owl and the Pussy Cat fame). This time the Quangle Wangle is convinced that life is dull until a variety of animals come to make their homes on his wondrous hat.
Good illustrations.
Good illustrations.
February 12, 2009
Bizzare and nonsensical and vaguely endearing.
February 28, 2023
What a joyous jumble of words! The pictures in this version by Janet Stevens add so much to the text.
April 21, 2010
This was an interesting read. The words were not my favorite, they were rather confusing, but the pictures were wonderful!!!
March 4, 2022
Giblin Eunson Libray / Melbourne Uni.
Children’s Literature Award Winners (upper ground)
1969 Greenaway Award (for illustrations) winner.
Bringing Edward Lear’s fantastical poetry to life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews