An uplifting and hugely entertaining collection of playground rhymes, edited by Iona and Peter Opie, leading authorities on children's rhymes, and with artwork by perhaps the world's most influential picture book illustrator, Maurice Sendak.In print again twenty years after it was first published, I saw Esau is a wonderful pocket book collection of over 170 playground rhymes, some of them hundreds of years old. From nonsense to riddles, retaliation rhymes to insults, the chants of schoolchildren across the centuries are revived in this joyful celebration of life and laughter. Sendak's boisterous illustrations revel in the fun, mischief and rebelliousness of childhood, and, as Iona Opie recognises in her wonderful introduction, much of the book's charm comes from its sense of the extraordinary indomitable spirit of children: "In Maurice Sendak's pictures the child always wins".

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 7-16 years.

There are 160 pages in this book. This book was published in 1992 by Walker Books Ltd .

Iona Opie has, in partnership with her late husband Peter Opie, edited many acclaimed books of children's folklore, including The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. I Saw Esau, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and My Very First Mother Goose. Rosemary Wells has won many major awards for her books, which include the Max and Ruby stories, three titles about Edward the Unready and Felix Feels Better. About Mother Goose, she says, "These rhymes are a celebration of the English language - it's our history and it's wonderful. " Iona and Peter Opie are the authors of many books, including 'The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes' and 'The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse'. Peter Opie died in 1982. Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) was born on June 10, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. A largely self-taught artist, Sendak illustrated over one hundred-fifty books during his sixty-year career. Sendak began a second career as a costume and stage designer in the late 1970s, designing operas. He remains the most honored childrens book artist in history. He was the recipient of the 1964 Caldecott Medal, the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 1983 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the 2003 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. In 1996 President Bill Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America. In 1972 Sendak moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut with his partner of fifty years, the psychiatrist Dr. Eugene Glynn (1926-2007). See https://www. sendakfoundation. org/.