new posts in all blogs
Viewing Blog: The Art of Children's Picture Books, Most Recent at Top
Results 1 - 25 of 359
This blog features the art in vintage children's picture books. It is for picture book lovers of all ages but is geared toward adults. Information is included on the artist/author. All types of illustrative medium will be included such as watercolor, woodcuts, scratchboard, pen & ink, collage, textiles, acrylics, etc. This blog is for people who enjoy the art in children's picture books, as well as the wonderful stories.
Statistics for The Art of Children's Picture Books
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 2
Today's vintage children's book is a repost from April of 2012, a wonderfully illustrated book by Barbara Cooney. It would have to be in my top ten of children's picture books.
To read a lovely post done at Anemotion in 2010 on Cooney, click here.
Barbara Cooney was a very skilled draftsman and had a beautiful style.
The link above to Light and Shade has a good post on Barbara Cooney. I have to agree with Vincent Desjardins about Cooney's work in black and white. I think those illustrations and others with limited color schemes really showcase her skill as an artist.
To view other posts I did on Barbara Cooney books:
Today's vintage children's book is Basil of Baker Street, written by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone. Galdone was a prolific illustrator who collaborated with Titus on several books. Two of their books, Anatole and Anatole and the Cat won Caldecott awards. This book has sentimental value for me as well. My son who is grown, adored the Basil books as a child, reading and re-reading them.
To view a past post of another book illustrated by Paul Galdone, click here.
Basil of Baker StreetBy Eve TitusIllustrated by Paul GaldoneMcGraw Hill Co., 1958
Today's vintage children's book, Snow, is chock full of information about snow and everything snow related. It also has lovely illustrations done in different shades of blue. I've always been drawn to illustrations done in limited color schemes. When they are done well, it is a testament to the artist.
Snow
By Thelma Harrington Bell
Drawings by Corydon Bell
The Viking Press, New York, 1954
I've been asked to help put out some news about a very special event coming up. On September 19th and 20th, 2014, there will be a Joan Walsh Anglund Weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. Joan Walsh Anglund, her granddaughter, Emily Anglund and Mary Engelbreit will be present at all events!
Events for this weekend start with a opening reception on Friday. On Saturday: a morning gathering at the Lexington Downtown Public Library, a luncheon at the Greentree Tea Room, an afternoon gathering at the Lexington Downtown Public Library Theatre and a dinner at the Greentree Tea Room. JWA souvenirs will also be available.
If you are a fan of Joan, you are not alone. Many of us grew up reading her books or reading them to our children. Her books have been published all over the world in many different languages. She has had many famous fans also, such as Queen Elizabeth, Jackie Onassis, Carol Burnett and the Emperor of Japan.
To get more details about this weekend, search for Joan Walsh Anglund Weekend on Facebook. But don't wait, space is limited and a reservation must be put in by Memorial Day, May 26th.
The picture of Joan above is from the jacket flap of A Friend is Someone Who Cares, 1958, published by Harcourt, Brace and World, New York.
I love this photograph of Joan from her website that shares some information about Joan and her lengthy career.
Here is a picture of Joan today, with her "famous" granddaughter, Emily.
This picture shows Joan with MaryDiane McCord Hanna, organizer of the Joan Walsh Anglund Weekend. Joan is still a lovely woman at the age of 88. I can
only hope to age as well as her!
To view my previous posts on Joan Walsh Anglund:
Today's vintage children's book is actually a vintage language school book
with a variety of illustrations by different artists.
Illustration by George Buckett
Illustration by Cornelio Martinez
Illustrations by Margaret Soucheck Cranstoun
Illustration by Aliki
Illustrations by Tim and Greg Hildebrandt
Illustration by Vic Herman
Illustration by Cornelio Martinez
Sounds I Remember
By Bill Martin Jr.
In Collaboration with
Peggy Brogan
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970
Back in October of 2011 I did a post on The Big Book of Animal Stories, illustrated by Janusz Grabianski. Here are a few more illustrations from the
book.
The Big Book of Animal Stories is a compilation of many stories such
as; The Three Little Pigs, The Fox and the Geese, The Lost Leg, The Elephant's Child, The King O' The Cats, The Hare As Nurse To The Bear Cubs, How The Coyote Made Man, The Tar Baby, The Crab and The Crane and many more.
I really like Grabianski's painterly style, such a lovely book. To view my previous post on this book and to read about Grabianski, click here. 
Today's vintage children's book, Ferdinand, is a redo from 2010. My scanner was not working properly at the time and threw a pink cast on every page. This post has all new scans and most of the illustrations from the book, plus the story itself, which is very entertaining. I kept the text in it's original format so not to lose the rhythm of the story.
"There was a little bull and his name was Ferdinand."
"All the other little bulls he
lived with would run and jump
and butt their heads together."
"But Not Ferdinand."
"He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers."
"He had a favorite spot out in the pasture under a cork tree."
"It was his favorite tree and he would sit in its shade all day..."
"Sometimes his mother, who
was a cow, would worry about
him. She was afraid he would
be lonesome all by himself."
"Why don't you run and play
with the other little bulls and
skip and butt your head?" she
would say."
"But Ferdinand would shake
his head. "I like it better here
where I can sit just quietly and
smell the flowers."
"His mother saw that he was
not lonesome, and because
she was an understanding
mother, even though she was
a cow, she let him just sit
there and be happy."
"As the years went by Ferdinand
grew and grew until he was
very big and strong."
"All the other bulls who had
grown up with him in the same
pasture would fight each other
all day. They would butt each
other and stick each other with
their horns. What they wanted
most of all was to be picked
to fight at the bull fights in
Madrid."
"One day five men came in very
funny hats to pick the biggest,
fastest, roughest bull to fight
in the bull fights in Madrid."
"All the other bulls ran around
snorting and butting, leaping
and jumping so the men would
think that they were very very
strong and fierce and pick them."
"Ferdinand knew that they
wouldn't pick him and he
didn't care. So he went out
to his favorite cork tree to
sit down."
"He didn't look where he was
sitting and instead of sitting
on the nice cool grass in the
shade he sat on a bumble bee."
"Well, if you were a bumble
bee and a bull sat on you what
would you do? You would
sting him. And that is just what
this bee did to Ferdinand."
"Wow! Did it hurt! Ferdinand
jumped up with a snort. He
ran around puffing and snorting,
butting and pawing the ground
as if he were crazy."
"The five men saw him and they
all shouted with joy. Here was
the largest and fiercest bull of
all. Just the one for the bull
fights in Madrid!"
"So they took him away for the
bull fight day in a cart."
"What a day it was! Flags were
flying, bands were playing. . . "
"and all the lovely ladies had
flowers in their hair."
"They had a parade into the bull ring."
"First came the Banderilleros
with long sharp pins with
ribbons on them to stick in
the bull and make him mad."
"Next came the Picadores who
rode skinny horses and they
had long spears to stick in the
bull and make him madder."
"Then came the Matador, the
proudest of all--he thought he
was very handsome, and bowed
to the ladies. He had a red cape
and a sword and was supposed
to stick the bull last of all."
"Then came the bull, and you
know who that was don't you?"
--FERDINAND.
"They called him Ferdinand
the Fierce and all the Banderilleros
were afraid of him and the
Picadores were afraid of him
and the Matador was scared stiff."
"Ferdinand ran to the middle of
the ring and everyone shouted
and clapped because the
thought he was going to fight
fiercely and butt and snort
and stick his horns around."
"But not Ferdinand. When he
got to the middle of the ring
he saw flowers in all the
lovely ladies' hair and he just
sat down quietly and smelled."
"He wouldn't fight and be fierce
no matter what they did. He
just sat and smelled. And the
Banderilleros were mad and
the Picadores were madder and
the Matador was so mad he
cried because he couldn't show
off with his cape and sword."
"So they had to take Ferdinand home."
"And for all I know he is sitting
there still, under his favorite
cork tree, smelling the flowers
just quietly."
To read about Robert Lawson go to my first post where you can also view my pink scans :> ).
The Story of Ferdinand
By Munro Leaf
Drawings by Robert Lawson
Puffin Books, 1981
First Published by The Viking Press, 1936
While it's true you can't judge a book by it's cover, it's often the very thing that draws us in.
It could be lovely patterns or designs that beckon us.
Even if it's in another language and we can't read it, good design is always good design.
Beautiful illustrations don't hurt either.
Curious subjects can also pique our interest.
Some books take us back to our youth.
I loved Pippi Longstocking as a child!
The Boxcar Children was another personal favorite :>).
Whatever draws us in, books are clearly one of life's simple pleasures and enjoyable pastimes.
Today's vintage children's book is a lovely story, Epaminondas, beautifully retold by Eve Merriam and craftfully illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.
"Epaminondas and his mother lived on one side of the hill. His grandmother and grandfather lived on the other side of the hill."
"Whenever Epaminondas went to visit his grandparents, they gave him something to take home."
"One day his grandmother gave him a big piece of cake that she had just baked. It was rich and yellow and round as the sun in the sky..."
"He held the cake tightly in his fist and walked down the hill carefully. He was careful not to trip on any pebbles along the way. And he headed straight home. He didn't even stop the watch the fish waggling in the brook. Or listen to the birds jabbering in the trees. He didn't whittle himself a stick. He went straight home."
"Epaminondas, sometimes I think you haven't even got the sense you were born with. That's not the way to carry cake. The way to carry cake is to wrap
it all up in leaves and put it in your hat and then put your hat on your head and come along home. Now, will you remember that?"
"Yes, Mama," said Epaminondas.
"The next week Epaminondas went to visit his grandparents again. This time they gave him a pound of fresh butter to take home. It had just been churned and it was cool and pale as moonlight and there were drops of moisture on it that sparkled like dew..."
"Soon the sun began to shine brightly...Epaminondas began to feel warmer and warmer. Pale, shiny drops ran down his forehead, matted his eyebrows, stuck to his eyelashes. He sniffed, and drops of butter sniffled into his nose..."
" After a while, Epaminondas went to visit his grandparents again, and they gave him a frisky little puppy-dog to take home. The puppy-dog yipped and yapped and flipped its stubby tail and flapped its floppy ears."
An excerpt from the jacket flap by Eve Merriam: "I loved Epaminonas; his adventures were funny, of course, but most of all I loved him because he was like me. I, too, had a knack for doing the right thing at the wrong time."
This is the kind of story that children love and parents enjoy reading because it is well written and well illustrated.
Epaminondas
Retold by Eve Merriam
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Follett Publishing Company, 1968
To view previous posts on Trina Schart Hyman, click on the links below:
Back in September 2011, I did a post on Volume 1 of the Childcraft How and Why Library. In that post I showed a papercraft illustration by Russell Jackson. I've had a few inquiries since then about Jackson.
I admire the skill and craftsmanship that went into this illustration and the photography.
I always intended to follow up with a post on Jackson, but a total lack of information about him has made that impossible, at least for me. To make things worse in my quest, there weren't any more color photos in Childcraft
of his illustrations or on the web.
There are several black/white photos of small chapter illustrations in Childcraft that didn't reproduce well, technology being so different then, but I did select two of the better ones.
And this all that I can find in my 15 volume Childcraft or anywhere of Russell Jackson's work. Sigh.
I did however find other papercraft illustrations done by another equally talented artist, Bill Rhodes. But unfortunately more of the same - I couldn't find any information on Rhodes either except for one clue.
The illustration credits in Childcraft for Bill Rhodes credit him and Stephens, Biondi, De Cicco, Inc., a well known advertising and editorial art studio in Chicago, Illinois.
It's likely both of these talented gentlemen did advertising related work, which could account for the lack of information on them given the time period. If you have information on either Jackson or Rhodes, please share. It's always frustrating to arrive at a dead end with this type of thing.
This type of media that Jackson and Rhodes worked in is also called paper model or card model and is related to origami. Introduced in the early 1900's, it became popular during World War II in part because paper was not in short supply as many other items were.
There are many artists currently working in papercraft and other paper media making wonderful art. This media lends itself beautifully to children's books. Below are some examples below for you to peruse:
Today's vintage children's book starts off the season here with The Santa Claus Book, written and illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia. This book was formerly titled The Reindeer Book. Aurelius Battaglia, (1910-1984), was among other things, a prolific illustrator of children's books.
Battaglia worked for Disney in the late 40's, contributing to Dumbo, Fantasia and Pinocchio. After that he joined the United Projections of America, a studio staffed by well known animation artists. It was there doing animation work that Battaglia honed his style, while also helping to start a trend of mid century illustration style that was looser and more abstract. (Info from Wikipedia,
Battaglia seems to have illustrated this book in a different style than his work from the 50's. (My copy is from 1982 but it looks like this book was originally done in 1965.) Check out the samples of his work below. And his work previous to mid century was also different. Artists are always changing and evolving.
The Santa Clause Book
By Aurelius Battaglia
Golden Press, New York,1982
Here is the original cover and title.
More work by Aurelius Battaglia:
This book is great, love the illustrations!
Above illustrations from Cowboy Jack the Sheriff via Golden Gems
Today's vintage children's book is An Eskimo Birthday, written by Tom D. Robinson and illustrated by Glo Coalson and is from 1975.
Glo Coalson is an artist, illustrator and a sculptor from Abilene, Texas. After graduating from college, Coalson moved to Alaska where her brother and his wife lived. Her sketches from her time there provided the inspiration and material to illustrate children's books with Eskimo characters.
I did a post on another book by Glo (love that name) awhile back, and unfortunately my scanner went out after just three pages. I need to find that book and repost it, as there is a limited number of images and info on the web
about Glo Coalson and her work.
In my previous post the link for her website is no longer active as she seems to have moved on to other work. Click here for a short paragraph about Glo Coalson and her current work.
I'm not sure what medium Coalson used for this book (charcoal and ink?),
but I like her style and obvious skills.
An Eskimo Birthday
By Tom D. Robinson
Pictures by Glo Coalson
Dodd, Mead, 1975
Today's vintage children's book, Fish Head, has been on my list of books to find for some time. I was pleased to come upon it at a recent estate sale. At this particular sale, there were books and bookshelves all over the home and even a small library. There was a nice selection and I happily bought many books for only $2 each.
I always find it touching at estate sales to come upon children's books that the home owners had saved for so many years.
I do believe this is my first post on Simont, who is a very well known illustrator. After looking at his bio, I found he was the illustrator for the numerous Nate the Great books, which my son enjoyed when he was young. Besides knowing his way around a line, Marc Simont illustrated close to 100 children's books, in addition to being a cartoonist. In 1956 he won a Caldecott for A Tree is Nice, written by Janice May Udry. Simont was also the recipient of two Caldecott Honors for The Happy Day (Ruth Krauss) and The Stray Dog (Reiko Sassa).
To read about Marc Simont, click here, to see images of other work by Simont, click here.
Fish Head
By Jean Fritz
Illustrated by Marc Simont
Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
1972 Edition
Today's vintage children's book, Fish Head, has been on my list of books to find for some time. I was pleased to come upon it at a recent estate sale. At this particular sale, there were books and bookshelves all over the home and even a small library. There was a nice selection and I happily bought many books for only $2 each.
I always find it touching at estate sales to come upon children's books that the home owners had saved for so many years.
I do believe this is my first post on Simont, who is a very well known illustrator. After looking at his bio, I found he was the illustrator for the numerous Nate the Great books, which my son enjoyed when he was young. Besides knowing his way around a line, Marc Simont illustrated close to 100 children's books, in addition to being a cartoonist. In 1956 he won a Caldecott for A Tree is Nice, written by Janice May Udry. Simont was also the recipient of two Caldecott Honors for The Happy Day (Ruth Krauss) and The Stray Dog (Reiko Sassa).
To read about Marc Simont, click here, to see images of other work by Simont, click here.
Fish Head
By Jean Fritz
Illustrated by Marc Simont
Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
1972 Edition
Today's vintage children's book, King Midas and the Golden Touch, is illustrated by the husband and wife team of Haig and Regina Shekerjian. Unfortunately, information about this couple seems to be elusive, so the best I can give you is a post I did on another book they illustrated back in 2011.
King Midas and the Golden Touch
By Al Perkins
Pictures by Haig and Regina Shekerjian
Scholastic Book Services, 1973
Today's vintage children's book, King Midas and the Golden Touch, is illustrated by the husband and wife team of Haig and Regina Shekerjian. Unfortunately, information about this couple seems to be elusive, so the best I can give you is a post I did on another book they illustrated back in 2011.
King Midas and the Golden Touch
By Al Perkins
Pictures by Haig and Regina Shekerjian
Scholastic Book Services, 1973
Today's vintage children's book, Real Science Riddles, was illustrated by graphic designer and illustrator Talivaldis Stubis (5/22/26 - 11/08/09). In addition to illustrating almost two dozen children's books, Stubis designed hundreds of now famous posters for stage and screen. Stubis won numerous awards for his books, including his 1962 book, A Pocketful of Seasons, that was named one of New York Time's 100 Best Books of the Year. Stubis's work was also very popular in Japan.
Rose Wyler, along with husband Gerald Ames, published many Science books in the 1950's, 60's and 70's, with the aim of making Science more approachable
to children.
Real Science Riddles
By Rose Wyler
Pictures by Talivaldis Stubis
Scholastic Books, 1971
Today's vintage children's book, Real Science Riddles, was illustrated by graphic designer and illustrator Talivaldis Stubis (5/22/26 - 11/08/09). In addition to illustrating almost two dozen children's books, Stubis designed hundreds of now famous posters for stage and screen. Stubis won numerous awards for his books, including his 1962 book, A Pocketful of Seasons, that was named one of New York Time's 100 Best Books of the Year. Stubis's work was also very popular in Japan.
Rose Wyler, along with husband Gerald Ames, published many Science books in the 1950's, 60's and 70's, with the aim of making Science more approachable
to children.
Real Science Riddles
By Rose Wyler
Pictures by Talivaldis Stubis
Scholastic Books, 1971
Today's vintage children's book is John Henry, An American Legend, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. This great American folk tale has been illustrated by many different artists over the years, but Keats does it justice with his use of color, texture and distinctive style.
John Henry
An American Legend
Story and Pictures by Ezra Jack Keats
Scholastic Book Services, 1970
Today's vintage children's book is John Henry, An American Legend, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. This great American folk tale has been illustrated by many different artists over the years, but Keats does it justice with his use of color, texture and distinctive style.
John Henry
An American Legend
Story and Pictures by Ezra Jack Keats
Scholastic Book Services, 1970
Too much of a good thing is never enough, especially when it comes to Art and Design. Back in November 2011 I did a post on Book Spine Design that was popular, so I'm back with more.
Love this!
What a lovely use for books that are falling apart!
Image via Forgotten Bookmarks
Forgotten Bookmarks, blogger and seller of used and rare books - posts about things found inside books like old recipes, photos, notes etc. I like it.
To see my previous post on book spine designs, click here.
Too much of a good thing is never enough, especially when it comes to Art and Design. Back in November 2011 I did a post on Book Spine Design that was popular, so I'm back with more.
Love this!
What a lovely use for books that are falling apart!
Image via Forgotten Bookmarks
Forgotten Bookmarks, blogger and seller of used and rare books - posts about things found inside books like old recipes, photos, notes etc. I like it.
To see my previous post on book spine designs, click here. 
Today's vintage children's book, A Child's World of Stamps, is a repost from 2011. I love this book with it's fun facts and pictures of mini works of art/graphic design (stamps) from around the world.
The accompanying text has stories, poems and customs with interesting and fun facts. For example: "In 1840 the world's first postage stamp was issued in England. It cost one penny and became known as the Penny Black." "The camel is the ship of the desert." "Kangaroos like the rain. They often leap for joy during a rainstorm." "Eskimo is the Indian word for "eater of raw meat." "Japan, which means "source of the sun," is a chain of islands in the Pacific, where cherry blossoms, ancient shrines and festival kimonos contrast with modern factories and high-speed trains." I love this stuff.
What a great hobby for kids and adults!
A Child's World of Stamps
By Mildred Dupree
Stories Poems Fun and Facts From Many Lands
Parents Magazine Press, 1973
Today's vintage children's book, A Child's World of Stamps, is a repost from 2011. I love this book with it's fun facts and pictures of mini works of art/graphic design (stamps) from around the world.
The accompanying text has stories, poems and customs with interesting and fun facts. For example: "In 1840 the world's first postage stamp was issued in England. It cost one penny and became known as the Penny Black." "The camel is the ship of the desert." "Kangaroos like the rain. They often leap for joy during a rainstorm." "Eskimo is the Indian word for "eater of raw meat." "Japan, which means "source of the sun," is a chain of islands in the Pacific, where cherry blossoms, ancient shrines and festival kimonos contrast with modern factories and high-speed trains." I love this stuff.
What a great hobby for kids and adults!
A Child's World of Stamps
By Mildred Dupree
Stories Poems Fun and Facts From Many Lands
Parents Magazine Press, 1973
Today's vintage children's book, The Nest Book, is from 1968 and was written by Kathleen N. Daly and illustrated by Jan Pfloog. Pfloog, (who I don't have any info on at this time) had some serious illustrating skills. It's puzzling to me how information on someone who illustrated many children's books cannot be found on the internet!
The Nest Book
By Kathleen N. Daly
Pictures by Jan Pfloog
Golden Press, New York, 1968
View Next 25 Posts
Thanks Jill. The spreads you've posted are inspiring. I'm working on a similarly designed book at the moment (one with limited color and careful drawing) and it's great to see another successful book in this format.
Rob,
Vintage children's books are a treasure trove of inspiration for limited color schemes. Some illustrators that come to mind are Nicolas Mordvinoff, Lynd Ward, Doris Burn and Evaline Ness. Do a search on my blog under the illustrator's name to see some books with limited color schemes.
You always find THE most interesting books, thanks for sharing them. Barbara
marchhousebookscom.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks Barb, I do appreciate it!
Ein wirklich interessanter Blog, und schön eingeleitet mit dem provokativen Foto. Diese Bild ist wirklich sehr ungewöhnlich wie z.b. dieses Gemälde von dem schweizer Maler Paul Klee http://WahooArt.com/A55A04/w.nsf/OPRA/BRUE-8LT475 und seinem Blick über dem Park. Dieses und noch vielmehr kann auf WahooArt.com angeschaut und als Druck oder auch als Gemälde bestellt werden.