Spike Milligan's publishing career began over forty years ago when Silly Verse for Kids was published in 1959. His poems were inspired by listening to his own children, and subsequently his grandchildren, and marvelling at the way they could invent new words or incorporate sound effects into their everyday language. Spike did not regard children as small adults, but as entirely different species who lived in a secret, magical world that very few adults understood. For decades he delved into this world, delighting children - and adults - of all ages with his poems and stories. Illustrated throughout with Spike's own drawings and specially commissioned artworks, this is an ideal read-alone or read-aloud book for Spike fans of all ages, featuring: Silly Verse for Kids (1959), The Bald Twit Lion (1968), A Book of Milliganimals (1968), Unspun Socks from a Chicken's Laundry (1968), Sir Nobonk and the Terrible, Awful, Dreadful, Nasty Dragon (1982), and Startling Verse for All the Family (1987).

Help your children learn Milliganese with A Child's Treasury of Milligan, a classic collection of daft short stories and nonsense rhymes from the king of Downright Silliness, Spike Milligan. This stunning anthology of Milligan's poems and stories for children comprises his classic books Unspun Socks for A Chicken's Laundry, A Book of Milliganimals, Silly Verse for Kidsand much more. A great book for sharing and reading aloud (once your child gets hold of one of the remarkably silly and occasionally quite naughty verses, there'll be no stopping them...)it would also appeal to more reluctant readers who may well be persuaded by the silliness of it all, and enjoy reading it alone in short bursts. Grown-ups beware: if you are a fully fledged Milligan fan you may well find this book irresistible. Age 7 and over--Susan Harrison --This text refers to the Paperback edition. Children have "a secret world that only very perceptive adults have any real knowledge of. I have. Lucky me", writes Spike Milligan. In this beautifully illustrated volume, the perpetual eccentric displays his childlike empathy with the mysterious minds of kids. It brings together four of his collections of verse: Silly Verse For Kids, A Book of Milliganimals, Unspun Socks From A Chicken Laundry andStartling Verse For All The Family, along with two longer pieces of prose The Bald Twit Lion and Sir Nobonk and the terrible, awful, dreadful, naughty, nasty Dragon.Spike is best known as a former Goon, and there is something of that spirit in these works. He demonstrates his versatility, however, in poems that range from the educational and irreverent (The ABC andMacDrown) to the satirical (Crocodile), darkly comic(Winds light to disastrous), linguistically inventive(Ipple-apple Tree) and downright weird (Fiddle faddle). There is much wisdom here, as well as intellectual allusions to keep the adults happy. An index would have helped, but for children from eight to one hundred and eight, this book is highly recommended. --Stephen Portlock --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.