Wallace Edwards

As writer and illustrator: • Alphabeasts • Monkey Business (2004) • The Extinct Files: My Science Project (2009) • Cat's pyjamas (2010) "Many young readers are (rightly) allergic to anything that can be described as “exquisite,” but there's no better word for The Cat’s Pajamas." • The painted circus: P.T. Vermin presents a mesmerizing menagerie of trickery and illusion guaranteed to beguile and bamboozle the beholder! (Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2007), • Uncle Wally's Old Brown Shoe (Vancouver: Orca Book Publishers, 2012) • Mixed Beasts (2013) • Unnatural Selections (Orca, 2014) "What makes Unnatural Selections so magnificent is the attention to detail. Like celebrated Australian author-illustrator Graeme Base (Animalia), Edwards creates richly layered scenes bursting with multiple components. Beyond the mythical animals featured in the foreground, readers are encouraged by a reference section at the book’s end to go back and hunt for additional creatures hidden throughout. Hours can be spent poring over every inch of each page, unearthing elements previously unnoticed. In the peripheries live Snailagators, Dorses, Snirds, and even a Frogtopus. No doubt, many readers will delight in searching for these unusual hybrids, but Edwards’ greatest triumph is his ability to encourage us all to discover the strange and wonderful beasts that already dwell in our own imaginations." • Once Upon a Line (2015) • What is Peace? (Peace Quest, 2016) • Woodrow at Sea (2018) "What's most surprising about Woodrow at Sea is that it's by Wallace Edwards, the beloved Governor General’s Literary Award–winner known for his intricate wordplay and illustrations. With this book, Edwards is moving in a different direction, foregoing his rich, deep-coloured palette for one much brighter, and embracing simplicity in his drawings rather than detail and subtext. Fans will miss his unique voice and style – not to mention witty rhymes – but taken on its own, Woodrow at Sea is a delight." "Wallace describes the narrative arc of this latest book as the Odyssey, much distilled. "It's a very simple version of the hero's tale, where my elephant protagonist sets off on an adventure, meets a fellow traveller, and finds himself in a situation where each one saves the other." • Do you Wonder? (2022) • Pigs Can`t Fly (2023)