Fantastic Stories.

UK,slim Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn,but a tiny red,ink felt pen dot to top,right-hand corner of ffe,and no clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour pictorial wrap- around artwork by Michael Foreman illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and minimal creasing to edges - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright,clean and clear; contents bright,tight,clean and pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - an unread copy? Publisher's original clean, unblemished,red cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip with clean pale blue endpapers.UK,slim Qrto HB +dw/dj,1st edn,6-128pp [paginated] +colour vignette illustrated half-title page,colour illustrated double-page title page,contents list/table,21 stories,22 full-colour,full-page illustrations,profuse other part-page and story head+tail piece,colour illustrations throughout the text and the book. If you've never seen a dancing horse or a juggling dog,or you don't know how the badger got his stripes,or what happened to the last dodo,you have come to the right place.Among these fantastic stories you will also learn about a princess who built herself a flying boat and sailed it to the moon (making her father very cross); a king who ate forget-me-nuts to blot out unpleasant thoughts; an ogre who was so slow that it took him three days just to get up and have breakfast,though he was quicker when it came to his favourite stew of human heads and gentlemen's socks. Terry Jones tells 21 fantastic stories of mischief and magic,dragons and dinosaurs,monsters and mermaids,cruelty and courage.There are strange stories, thrilling stories,funny stories and even some quite silly stories,like the one about the cat with two tails (one of which shone in the dark,which mice thought very unfair),or the one about a boy called Ben who goes to sea in a Ship of Fools with a captain who tries to steer with his feet and a crew so daft that they eat the lifeboat. Yes,one or two of them are Very Silly Indeed.At the end of the book we meet some old friends,because Nicobobinus and Rosie return here in an adventure involving the Doge of Venice,a fish and the Doge's daughter - a girl who has never had any fun.But her troubles are over because,as anyone knows who has read the earlier adventures of Nicobobinus or Erik the Viking,a Terry Jones story is always fun.Each of these incredible tales is superbly illustrated with Michael Foreman's rich and imaginative watercolours,which create wonderful worlds where anything could happen,and generally does. Michael Foreman,born Pakefield,Suffolk,1938.Studied at Lowestoft School of Art and at the Royal College of Art.Lecturer at St Martin's School of Art (1963-65),the London College of Printing (1967-8),the Royal College of Art (1968-70) and the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1972).Art Director of Playboy magazine, Chicago (1965) and the King Magazine,London (1966).Painter, etcher,illustrator and writer of children's books.His illustrative work is distinctive: he often works in colour or halftone,creating luminous effects with veils of thinly diluted pigment over delicate pencil outlines; in his etched illustrations,he uses soft ground techniques to achieve subtle tonal graduations.His imagery,ostensibly decorative,humorous or with a sometimes child-like appearance, often has menacing or bizarre overtones. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices,weight allowances, dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!