Ample Animals

About the Book

Have you heard of Shakespeare? Can you name anything he wrote? Maybe you know Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet or King Lear. These were all plays performed at the theatre. But Shakespeare has a special way of writin, it was called iambic pentameter. This is a musical rhythm that stresses the second syllable, di-dum, di-dum, di-dum, di-dum. Every sentence in this book uses this rhythm. If you look carefully you may also notice the first letter of each word in a sentence is the same. This is called alliteration, another literary technique. This is a children's book but some of the vocabulary is not so easy, so adults reading this book can also improve their language skills. Every letter of the alphabet has a picture of an animal doing something. Enjoy the colourful illustrations, each one was hand painted by the artist Andy Starck.

About the Author

Gemma Peters has taught English to both primary and secondary school children in the UK. With a particular passion for creative writing, she has composed this text fusing elements of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter with alliteration. To introduce these two important literary techniques to young children, she used the theme of animals, each with a corresponding letter of the alphabet. Gemma’s twin babies enjoy the sing-song rhythm and are enthralled by the vibrant illustrations. We hope your little ones will be too! Focusing on a young audience, Gemma chose the artist Andy Stark to depict each animal scene with strong, vivid illustrations in bright, colourful settings. Andy Stark is an artist based in Taiwan, where he lectures at Southern Taiwan University in subjects ranging from Philosophy and History to Creative Writing. Andy is a graduate from St Martin’s School of Art but has spent half of his life in Asia becoming ever more influenced by the East. Currently immersed in Chinese Calligraphy, he also has a keen interest in the aboriginal tribal art and culture of Taiwan.