The Blurb On The Back:

Do you know what a Onecan is?  Have you met a Gofongo or the Bald Twit Lion?  Can you guess what the Wiggle-Woggle said?

Another collection of goonish poems and zany drawings by Spike Milligan.  

You can buy A BOOK OF MILLIGANIMALS by Spike Milligan from Amazon UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through this link.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

This is a collection of illustrations, verse and one short story for children aged 8+ by Spike Milligan that drips with his trademark silliness and unique way of thinking about creatures and the world in general.  The book ends with a short story about a foolish lion who goes bald, which I enjoyed but might be a little too unstructured for kids.  Sadly this book is out of print but is worth checking out for Milligan completists.  

The book consists of 18 silly verse about animals – some real, some imaginary.  Some of the illustrations are a lot of fun with Milligan joking about Toucans, hippos and even the Northern Lights.  I remember some of these verse and illustrations from my childhood so there was a definite nostalgia hit when I read them again, especially the Onecan/Toucan joke, which brought back a lot of memories.

The final section of the book is a short, chaptered story about the Bald Twit Lion, which I did enjoy but the silliness makes it ramble a bit and I wonder if children these days would have the patience for it.

First published in 1968, sadly this book now seems to be out of print, which is a shame because I think there’s still a lot here that children would enjoy and I think it’s something that anyone who’s a fan of Milligan’s work would get a lot of joy from reading.