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Tiny Tim: Verses for children
Tiny Tim Verses for Children
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
20 people want to read
About the author
Helen Oxenbury
346 books104 followersMarried to John Burningham
Born in 1938 and growing up in Ipswich, England, Helen Oxenbury loved nothing more than drawing. As a teenager, she entered art school and basked in the pleasure of drawing, and nothing but drawing, all day. During vacations she helped out at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre workshop, mixing paints for set designers. It was there that she decided her future lay in theater design.
While studying costume design, however, Helen Oxenbury was told by a teacher, "This is hopeless, you know. You ought to go and do illustrations--you're much more interested in the character, and we don't know who's going to play the part!"
But sets and scenery, not books, remained Helen Oxenbury's preoccupation for several more years as she embarked on careers in theater, film, and TV. After marrying John Burningham, another of the world's most eminent children's book illustrators, and giving birth to their first child, at last she turned to illustrating children's books. "When I had babies," Helen Oxenbury says, "I wanted to be home with them and look for something to do there."
Today, Helen Oxenbury is among the most popular and critically acclaimed illustrators of her time. Her numerous books for children include the Greenaway Medal-winning ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and its companion, ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, both by Lewis Carroll; Smarties Book Prize-winning FARMER DUCK by Martin Waddell; SO MUCH by Trish Cooke; as well as her classic board books for babies. More recently, she collaborated with author Phyllis Root on the jubilant, no-nonsense tall tale BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD. "As I read Phyllis's text, I imagined Big Momma as part Buddha, part housewife," she says. "It was intimidating to create a whole world, but very enjoyable."
And what does she love most about her work? Thinking up new ideas? Seeing the finished book? Not at all. For Helen, "The best part is when I think I know what I'm doing and I've completed a few drawings. In fact, when I get about a third of the way through, and I feel I'm on my way, then I'm happy. It's like reading a good book--you don't want it to end."
Helen Oxenbury and her husband make their home in London, where the illustrator works in a nearby studio. She is also an avid tennis player.
Born in 1938 and growing up in Ipswich, England, Helen Oxenbury loved nothing more than drawing. As a teenager, she entered art school and basked in the pleasure of drawing, and nothing but drawing, all day. During vacations she helped out at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre workshop, mixing paints for set designers. It was there that she decided her future lay in theater design.
While studying costume design, however, Helen Oxenbury was told by a teacher, "This is hopeless, you know. You ought to go and do illustrations--you're much more interested in the character, and we don't know who's going to play the part!"
But sets and scenery, not books, remained Helen Oxenbury's preoccupation for several more years as she embarked on careers in theater, film, and TV. After marrying John Burningham, another of the world's most eminent children's book illustrators, and giving birth to their first child, at last she turned to illustrating children's books. "When I had babies," Helen Oxenbury says, "I wanted to be home with them and look for something to do there."
Today, Helen Oxenbury is among the most popular and critically acclaimed illustrators of her time. Her numerous books for children include the Greenaway Medal-winning ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and its companion, ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, both by Lewis Carroll; Smarties Book Prize-winning FARMER DUCK by Martin Waddell; SO MUCH by Trish Cooke; as well as her classic board books for babies. More recently, she collaborated with author Phyllis Root on the jubilant, no-nonsense tall tale BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD. "As I read Phyllis's text, I imagined Big Momma as part Buddha, part housewife," she says. "It was intimidating to create a whole world, but very enjoyable."
And what does she love most about her work? Thinking up new ideas? Seeing the finished book? Not at all. For Helen, "The best part is when I think I know what I'm doing and I've completed a few drawings. In fact, when I get about a third of the way through, and I feel I'm on my way, then I'm happy. It's like reading a good book--you don't want it to end."
Helen Oxenbury and her husband make their home in London, where the illustrator works in a nearby studio. She is also an avid tennis player.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 24, 2019
This book is supposed to be hilarious. It's actually horrifying. What sane person thinks that showing a child drowning his baby brother, a man who puts his head in the oven until his eyes explode, a hunter blowing his head off with a rifle, and a kid being eaten by a bear are funny incidents? Seriously... What was wrong with people in 1981?!
I just have to share this page; this isn't even one of the worst ones:
Okay, so the idea is sort of funny. But including a picture of a man's head graphically exploding is just too much. I would've been traumatized by this book as a child. (I'll spare you the page with the hunter shooting himself in the head. It even has blood spatter.)
This goes firmly into the "what were they thinking?!" file. Not funny.
I just have to share this page; this isn't even one of the worst ones:
Okay, so the idea is sort of funny. But including a picture of a man's head graphically exploding is just too much. I would've been traumatized by this book as a child. (I'll spare you the page with the hunter shooting himself in the head. It even has blood spatter.)
This goes firmly into the "what were they thinking?!" file. Not funny.
July 7, 2023
I expected funny verses. But instead found death-related, graphically depicted visuals of things like exploding heads. Definitely should not be aimed towards young children. Found it was published in 1993, did people actually think this was a good idea to read this to their children as, say, a bedtime story???
November 24, 2012
“I had a little brother. His name was Tiny Tim. I put him in the bathtub. To teach him how to swim….” This book includes hilarious poems that were chosen for their immediate appeal towards children. Much of these poems are rhyme poems, so a classroom read aloud would be entertaining. Different authors are presented throughout the book, all selected by Jill Bennett. The pictures and the text both compliment each other making it a very delightful read. A playful collection to share with anyone, anywhere.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews