A Matter of Chatter is an eclectic mix of nursery rhymes, verse and nonsense for young children.

Come, meet Mr Odds ‘n’ Ends

Find out the benefits of wearing Odd Socks

Hear the Hullabaloo

Discover Royal Mayhem

and much, much more.

Drawing inspiration from the nursery rhymes of his childhood, Apollo Stark wrote and published this, his first ever book, in 1995. This revised and expanded second edition, unlike its predecessor, contains previously unpublished pieces and illustrations. Adding to and enriching the tradition of telling and reciting nursery rhymes, ‘A Matter of Chatter’ will make a delightful edition to any nursery school’s bookshelves or infant’s bedtime stories.

My piece, ‘Hey Dum Dum Rook’ was inspired by ‘The Cat and the Fiddle’, the earliest printed version of this poem being written in 1765, and which is now better known as ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’.

‘Where The Peppers Went’, is my response to the tongue twisting, rhyming question posed by John Harris in 1813 when he asked in his book called, Peter Piper’s practical principals of plain and perfect pronunciation, “Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”

My rhyming verse, ‘Royal Mayhem’, like its predecessors, The Grand Old Duke of York and Humptey Dumptey, is a historical commentary.

Two Muddle Some, and several other pieces in this book, were inspired by the nonsense works of Mr Edward Lear, whilst ‘Tom Cat Bert” was motivated by A A Milne’s verse, Buckingham Palace.

I hope my humble offerings, like those nursery rhymes before them, endure the test of time, and in some little way help to keep the tradition of nursery rhyme writing and telling alive.