A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2025!
*Available now from Enchanted Lion Books, or you can order from your favorite local indie bookstore. Click here for a sneak peek at more spreads.
“An absolute joy of a picture book — celebrating nonsense, play, art, storytelling and the life of the writer and artist Edward Lear.“ —Jon Scieszka, the first U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, for The New York Times
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2025! “In this joy of a book, Hill tells the story of Edward Lear’s life with a playfulness that echoes his subject’s own writings. Carlin’s seamless mix of illustrations and sketchy doodles, her art and Lear’s, is not only exquisite but as exuberantly clever and goofy as the nonsense king himself.” —Jennifer Krauss, Children’s Books Editor, New York Times
Featured in The New Yorker’s Holiday Gift Guide! “For artistic inspiration that isn’t overly instructional, turn to … my favorite children’s book of 2025, The Boy Who Became a Parrot, a stunningly beautiful illustrated biography of the great ornithological artist and bard of the limerick Edward Lear.” —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker
One of New York Magazine / The Strategist's Best New Books for Kids Published in 2025! "Introduces kids to Lear, a lover of words, natural history, and all things playful and fanciful, and celebrates the story of a lesser-known creator." —Youngna Park, The Strategist
Featured in the Politics & Prose Holiday Book Guide! “This enchanting book is the pertect union of subject, writer, and illustrator… Hill tunes in to Lear's sense of fun and fantasy, and to his sympathy with children and animals. Carlin's magical paintings combine powdery pastels, watercolor, and (Lear-inspired) pen work… This beautiful book is gentle, playful, and whimsical- everything that Mr. Lear himself embodied.” —Politics & Prose
A Politics & Prose Children & Teen Favorite of 2025! “An enchanting tribute… Lear’s sense of fun and fantasy is conveyed by the text, and Carlin’s magical paintings with Lear-inspired pen work. This beautiful book is gentle, playful, and whimsical—everything that embodied Lear himself.” —András Goldinger, buyer at Politics & Prose (Washington, DC)
"The playful loquaciousness of the writing alongside Carlin’s gorgeous art… This book is unlike anything that’s come before." —Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (A School Library Journal blog
“A fitting portrait of the creator of nonsensical foolishness… Hill’s writing complements Carlin’s ethereal illustrations, creating a fanciful world full of wonder and nonsensical imagery… A lovingly unique tribute to a master of whimsicality.” —Kirkus Reviews
“‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’ has delighted generations of children, and this thoroughgoing picture book biography carefully documents the life of its author, Edward Lear… In this extended, dreamlike examination of a creator who found ways to express his love of the unconventional, Carlin weaves Lear-like scribbles (and some of the artist’s own work) in and around smudged, often ghostly figures, portrayed with various skin tones.” —Publishers Weekly
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! “Surreal and beautiful illustrations help tell the story of Edward Lear. Literature and bird lovers alike will appreciate reading about his busy life.” —Rebecca Roman, NYPL Librarian
Previous Books
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Neversink
Lockley Puffin longs to soar. But the unwritten rule among puffins is “Don’t Make Waves.” So Lockley must battle his own insecurities as well as a faction of hat-wearing owls as he tries to save his island home from invasion and starvation. His unlikely allies are his two best friends, a know-it-all walrus named Egbert and a vagrant hummingbird named Ruby.
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The Vanishing Island
It’s the Age of Seafaring, and Bren Owen longs for nothing more than to escape his small town for a life of adventure. He gets his wish when a dying sailor bequeaths a strange gift with a hidden message. Cracking the code could change Bren’s fortune, but he’ll have to tie his fate to a mysterious Dutch admiral obsessed with the legend of an island that long ago disappeared from any map.
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The Dragon's Gate
In book two of The Vanishing Island trilogy, Bren and his new friend Mouse seek to unravel the mystery of a white jade stone and a map inscribed in bone. Bren just wants to return home. Mouse is determined to find the Dragon’s Gate, connected to her kidnapping as a child. But nothing goes according to plan when they cross paths with Lady Jean Barrett, a charismatic archaeologist with a sense of destiny.
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The Sea of the Dead
After the harrowing and life-changing events at the Dragon’s Gate, Bren is more determined than ever to make his way home. But to do so he’ll first have to help an Indian noblewoman bent of reclaiming an ancient power that would help liberate her homeland. The Vanishing Island trilogy concludes with one last adventure into the unknown, where Bren will be forced to confront his deepest fears.