David McPhail – illustratör

Little Horse had never known the sky to be so black, the air so still. He heard the big horses whinny again. Little Horse''s fear grew. The adventures of Little Horse continue as he makes his way back to the valley of little horses and his mother The storm sets Little Horse free from the fence holding him captive, free to do what he has wanted to do since the day the river carried him around its bend and away from his home-find his way back to the valley of the little horses and his mother. But where should he turn, and how will he ever return home alive with all of the obstacles facing him? Travel with Little Horse as he struggles against unfriendly horses, a malicious bird, a pouncing cat, a smoky fire, and more to find his way home.

Three classic Dennis Lee titles in one beautiful book

This giftable and shareable volume brings together three of Dennis Lee’s best-loved collections of poetry—Alligator Pie, Jelly Belly and The Ice Cream Store—spanning three decades of his warm and whimsical rhymes.

“You can almost hear the skipping rope slapping the sidewalk,” wrote Margaret Laurence of Dennis Lee’s timeless poetry collection Alligator Pie. One of the first published illustrated books about Canadian children, and featuring Frank Newfeld’s instantly recognizable original illustrations, Alligator Pie has sold more than half a million copies since its publication in 1974.

Originally published in 1983, Jelly Belly tickles readers with a mix of humour and traditional Mother Goose charm. The vivid illustrations by Juan Wijngaard (winner of the 1981 Mother Goose Award) reveal wonders as readers follow the characters throughout the book and stumble upon new and fascinating visual treasures.

In the kid-pleasing collection The Ice Cream Store, originally published in 1991, Dennis Lee delves into the special and imaginative world of children. David McPhail’s gorgeous and appealing watercolour paintings of children and animals portray both the familiar and the fantastic, extending the meaning of the poems and providing a colourful feast for the eye.

Young readers will fall in love all over again with Dennis Lee’s light-hearted verse, which embraces universal childhood experiences of every flavour, from digging holes to foreign lands to searching for the perfect pet. David McPhail’s gorgeous watercolour paintings capture Lee’s subtle celebration of multiculturalism and offer a colourful feast for the eye.

Oh, the kids around the block are like an Ice cream store,

’Cause there’s chocolate and vanilla,

And there’s maple and there’s more…