I got this amazing book for Christmas from @thisallegra called Animal Land Where There Are No People (you can buy it here). It was published in 1897 in Scotland, and, essentially, the mother of a four year old drew all of these creatures that her daughter dreamt up. She included her descriptions of them, and then drew them based on how her daughter said they should look. It is priceless. These are some of my favorites. The descriptions, in order:
The Booba: This is a funny little animal. It makes no noise and runs.
The Ginniwits: This beast is larger than any table and is always there.
The Kank: This animal lives in a forest, eats hay, comes every morning up to the front door. It's a kind little animal. It can do everything and that's all.
The Joox: This animal's name is Joox because it is not a bear. It growls and eats cabbages and beans.
The Weedle: This animal has such dainty little ways of pulling up potatoes.
The Burkan: A nasty biting thing. There's none more about it.
The Jumma: This animal likes chocolate and rabbits. It is a little bit blingey.
The Melly: This creature is so surprised and eats toffee.
(And, no, "blingey" is not a word, and I suspect it's pronounced [ˈblɪn.dʒi], rhyming with dingy, as in dingy and dark.)
This is a small sampling. This book is an absolute treasure, and reconfirms my belief that four year olds are brilliant.
