Nursery Rhymes ( working title is A Rhyme in Time)
compiled and illustrated by Jackie Morris
to be pub Frances Lincoln UK and USA Autumn 2011

 

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Some time ago I had the idea to work on a book of nursery rhymes. This changed over time into The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems. I loved working on the poetry book, which I hope is a book for all ages, but still hankered after the anarchic nature of the nonsense of nursery rhymes. So when Frances Lincoln asked what I would like to do next I suggested a collection and they decided that it was time they had one on their list.

 

 

First came the wonderful task of collecting which ones to illustrate. I soon realised that I had so many in my head that were there from my own childhood, my own favorites being full of bats and cats and dog bark and crooked houses. There is something very wonderful about how a whole story can be held in something as short as:

There was a crooked man

And he walked a crooked mile

He found a cooked sixpence

On a crooked stile

He bought a crooked cat

That caught a crooked mouse

And they all lived together in a crooked little house.

 

 

 

For some reason I abandoned my usual sketchbooks in favour of a small black moleskine, and words and images began to come together. Some are romantic, some are naughty, some chaotic, but all I am loving working on. Progress for the book can be followed at Drawing A Line in Time.

 

 

 

 

 

The hart he loves the high wood.

The hare, she loves the hill.

The knight he loves his bright sword

And the lady loves her will.

 

 

To follow the development of the book and to keep up to date with news of other projects go to Drawing a Line in Time.

 

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