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John Burningham was born in 1936. He studied illustration at the Central School of Art. His first children's book, Borka, was published in 1963, and it was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal as the best illustrated book of the year. John Burningham collaborated with Ian Fleming on Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, designing the model of the famous car. He lived in London with his wife Helen Oxenbury, also a well-known author and illustrator. John Burningham died on January 4th, 2019.
Simp is indisputably an ugly dog: a small fat blob with a thick snout and a stump for a tail. Nobody wants her - not the owner who leaves her near a trash dump nor the rats who warn her of the scarcity of food nor the cat who chases her from a garbage can - only the dog catcher, and she escapes from him. Salvation comes in the form of a circus clown who is about to be fired; Simp subs for the cannonball that shoots through the hoop (she looks Just like one curled up), thereby delighting the audience and assuring his success. Aside from some concern for Simp, the story's not much, but John Burningham extends here his gift for trenchant line and subtly scumbled Color; (one scene could have come from Paul Klee). You might forgive the formula plot and concentrate on the situations - Simp counseled by foraging rats, forlorn amidst well-fed dogs with collars, at table with all the little circus animals; they look great. (Kirkus Reviews)
