Thanks a lot for the verses. It's could be an animated short!
Check out Toopy and Binoo original books (before the TV series evolved) for some fun. And NFB of Canada animated shorts such as The Sweater, to see more examples that might reinforce your observation. I was never exposed to a big enough sample size of works to make any generalizations. I haven't seen the drawings inside the book. The cover is an interesting technique. I think it's sad that I have that image in my head when listening but it should fade. I avoided the CRT book for similar reasons. Does the I Wish You Good Spaces book have illustrations? I like the cover of that book. Anyhow...
Two sets of ears is perplexing but its artistic licence, eh. It's not as creepy as the boy horse, Newt from the Herc cartoon
Gord played this tune in my niece's classroom. I asked what she thought. She said he looked yellow and smelled smokey. Rotten kid... She'd get a kick out of the cover. Yeah, I figured the illustrator was French.