Rosemary Wells – illustratör

"The words one first meets in nursery rhymes will always have a special magic," writes Iona Opie in her foreword to this book. "Hey Diddle, Diddle", "Humpty Dumpty", "Jumping Joan", "Wee Willie Winkie", passed on from generation to generation, these rhymes learnt in infancy remain with us forever. Divided into four enticing sections, My Very First Mother Goose contains more than sixty of the most colourful and best-loved nursery rhymes. But what makes it so special are the wonderful watercolour pictures by Rosemary Wells, who has created an engaging and exuberant world filled with distinctive characters - rabbits and cats and mice - guaranteed to delight the youngest child. This is indeed a very first book, a book to be encountered at the earliest possible moment and savoured for an entire lifetime.

From the inimitable Rosemary Wells, author-illustrator of My Very First Mother Goose, comes a story about best friends, Fiona and Felix. Fiona has no time today – not even to go to the bathroom. She is in a big hurry to show off the volcano she and Felix made for show-and-tell. But just as the volcano erupts ... oops! If only she had stopped to use the bathroom when she needed to! Fiona thinks that everyone will laugh about her accident for the next fifty years. But with the help of Felix, her teacher, and a classmate’s pet goldfish, Fiona learns that little accidents are quickly forgotten.

When picky eater Felix finds himself in a pickle, his best friend, Fiona, gently helps him widen his culinary horizons.Felix brings the same lunch to school every day: sprouts on buttered oat bread. He will also eat pasta with butter. And he loves macaroni and cheese. No need to try anything new. But on the night of his friend Fiona’s half-birthday celebration, Felix finds himself facing down an unfamiliar – and anxiety-provoking – menu. Will he leave the restaurant hungry, or can Fiona convince him to give new tastes a try? With singular compassion and humour, Rosemary Wells once again shows how friendship can help buffer a familiar moment of childhood angst.