Pride of Lions (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
Written and illustrated by Nicola Morgan, Pride of Lions (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1987) was named this year's winner of the Egoff Prize. It's a striking work that marries a droll, minimal text to arresting, dynamic illustrations of bright shapes and warm tones.
Morgan's idea of illustrating a compendium of animal group nouns (eg. a murder of crows) has been used by other illustrators but seldom with such dry, Aesopian wit. Here alliterative word play on each noun is given concrete form in visual puns and sight gags. Nonsensical animal characters engaged in absurd, anthropomorphized activities are dressed as wealthy executive parrots or black-leather-jacketed delinquent elks. --by Judith Saltman
[BCBW Summer 1988]
Morgan's idea of illustrating a compendium of animal group nouns (eg. a murder of crows) has been used by other illustrators but seldom with such dry, Aesopian wit. Here alliterative word play on each noun is given concrete form in visual puns and sight gags. Nonsensical animal characters engaged in absurd, anthropomorphized activities are dressed as wealthy executive parrots or black-leather-jacketed delinquent elks. --by Judith Saltman
[BCBW Summer 1988]
Submitted on December 9, 2003 in By David.