What do you get if you take an old nursery rhyme, add sprinkles of humour, mix in clever little twists and top with naughtiness? Answer – “Hey Diddle Diddle – a naughty delight for lesbians and other grown ups” by Marie Davis (available from Amazon).
Marie sent me a copy of her audio book Hey Diddle Diddle recently. You may have heard of Marie or seen her cartoons, if not you should check out her website waywardpencils. With Hey Diddle Diddle Marie has created an audio cartoon but with heaps of extra zing.
I have to admit I was very curious and not really sure what to expect. Not only had I never listened to an audio book before but I’d also never come across a nursery rhyme turned into a lesbian tale. I’m glad to say once I started to listen I soon realized it’s a great idea which Marie has turned into a great reality.
I don’t want to give too much of the story away but remind yourself of the nursery rhyme and you’ll get a rough outline. After that anything is possible in this story and there are also a few surprises. The interesting and unusual characters include a lactose intolerant cow, a lesbian handywoman, a fiddle playing cat and a love sick spoon. There are also some great minor characters such as the fireflies and the toast pieces.
The story is read beautifully by Marie herself and this charming tale lends itself so well to being heard. The fabulous imagery she has created rolls easily off her tongue and soothes the ears. Marie has very skillfully taken the nursery rhyme and created a witty tale full of absolutely lovely descriptions of the characters and their surroundings. And yes there are some amusing and very entertaining “naughty” bits.
If you have the chance to listen to “Hey Diddle Diddle” you should, I enjoyed it so much I’ve already listened to it twice.
