The Art of Children's Picture Books

Vintage Library Posters

2018-09-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

The kids are back in school and so begins the homework and carting of backpacks bulging with books. I seriously question that - can't imagine that there won't be back problems down the road.

Every so often I like to google vintage library posters. I appreciate all the different creative approaches. They're inspiring, fun to look at and a good reminder of how important it is to read.

images via EBOOK FRIENDLY

Image via EBOOK FRIENDLY

Image via PublicDomainPictures

image via Laughing Squid

image via Free Vintage Posters

images via Brain Pickings

Back in the old pre-computer days, this was the only way to get information. I remember being taught in school how to find information, what resources were best etc. for all those book reports and papers. How things have changed! I'm glad I learned that, but it is quite convenient to have technology at our finger tips.

Did You Get Enough Summer?

2015-08-23T20:21:00.002-07:00

Summer is waning. It won't be long and cooler Fall temperatures will be here. I'll have to put my shorts and flip flops away and start wearing socks again. While Fall is a season I do love, the question is did I make the most of this Summer, enjoying all of Summer's goodness? Well, no. In part because it was a Summer of working, working, working and me being a lazy slacker the rest of the time. I did drink ice tea and lemonade while I lazed, which is very summerish.

Remember all the things you couldn't wait to do when you were a kid? All the hallmarks of Summer like swimming, camping, going to the fair? Now I'm too lazy to do them, but I can still enjoy them, vicariously. I'm sure you can guess where this is leading. : > )

Image via Envisioning the American Dream

Image via The Art of Children's Picture Books

The Golden Book of Camping and Camp Crafts

Image via Book Community

Image via Pinterest

Norman Rockwell "Kids Eating Corn"

image via My Vintage Book Collection

image via plugged-in

image via Visualize This

image via ebay

image via My Vintage Book Collection

Image via Tracey's Toys

Image via Vintage Library

How about you? Did you get enough Summer? There's still some time left to get in a last few rites of Summer!

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

2015-04-04T13:54:00.006-07:00

There seems to be some discrepancy as to when the rhyme was first penned

by farmer and poet Thomas Tusser "Sweet April Showers Do Spring May Flowers." Some accounts say 1500's, others 1600's or 1800's. Whenever it was

written, it has surely stuck and been modified along the way to just "April Showers bring May Flowers."

In searching for vintage children's books about flowers, I was struck by how lovely the antique books were. I thought about young children of long ago looking at these beautifully illustrated books and how they would have informed young minds, fueled their imaginations and provided exposure to fine art.

Flower Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker

image via duermevela

Daffodil Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker

May Day

image via lululetty

Little Flower Folks

image via Homeschool Commons

The Alphabet of Flowers and Fruit, 1856

image via San Francisco Public Library

The Alphabet of Flowers and Fruit,1856

image via Letterology

Chasing the Green Faerie, 1925

Image via Bohemian Wornest

Beautiful Flowers of the Months, 1918

image via Terri

Almanack for 1890, Kate Greenaway

image via Antique Children's Books

Gertie's Sun Flower

image via I am a Child

The Water-Babies, Jessie Willcox Smith

2015-02-02T20:11:00.002-08:00

Today's vintage children's book, The Water-Babies, was written by Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935). Smith was a very successful artist who worked during the Golden Age of Illustration. She studied under Howard Pyle at his Brandywine School of Illustration, illustrated more than 40 books and did hundreds of magazine illustrations. Her work is very recognizable and she is known for her beautiful illustrations that capture the essence of children.

From the summary at the front of the book: The adventures of Tom, a sooty little chimney sweep with a great longing to be clean, who is stolen by fairies and turned into a water-baby.

The Water-Babies

By Charles Kingsley

Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith

Books of Wonder

William Morrow and Company, 1997

Chanticleer and The Fox, Barbara Cooney

2015-01-25T21:54:00.001-08:00

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 view that post, click here.

To read a lovely post done at Anemotion in 2010 on Cooney, click here.

Image via Flickr

Barbara Cooney was a very skilled draftsman and had a beautiful style.

Image via Pictify

Image via Light and Shade

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.

Image via Mama Hooper

Image via Flickr

To view other posts I did on Barbara Cooney books:

Miss Rumphius

Seven Little Rabbits

Basil of Baker Street, Paul Galdone

2015-01-20T21:52:00.005-08:00

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 Street
By Eve Titus
Illustrated by Paul Galdone
McGraw Hill Co., 1958

Snow, Corydon Bell

2015-01-19T21:39:00.002-08:00

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

Joan Walsh Anglund Weekend

2014-04-28T10:12:00.001-07:00

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:

Illuminated Letters by Joan Walsh Anglund

Golden Treasury of Poetry

Christmas is a Time of Giving

Good Book Cover Design

Sounds I Remember

2014-03-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

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

The Big Book of Animal Stories, Janusz Grabianski, Part 2

2014-03-02T19:29:00.001-08:00

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.

The Story of Ferdinand illustrated by Robert Lawson

2014-02-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

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

Lovely Book Covers

2014-02-16T20:10:00.001-08:00

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.

image via Miss Beatrix

Little Forest, image via meedchen

image via Ruby Lane

image via Happiness Is

Even if it's in another language and we can't read it, good design is always good design.

Images via 50 Watts

Russian Children's book, image via SPACE IN TEXT

Beautiful illustrations don't hurt either.

image via Letterology

image via gin 'n' bird

image via Pinterest

image via vintage ephemera

Curious subjects can also pique our interest.

image via Pinterest

image via tweedlebopper

Some books take us back to our youth.

image via Pinterest

I loved Pippi Longstocking as a child!

image via etsy

image via Pinterest

The Boxcar Children was another personal favorite :>).

Whatever draws us in, books are clearly one of life's simple pleasures and enjoyable pastimes.

Epaminondas Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

2014-02-09T19:39:00.002-08:00

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:

Little Red Riding Hood

Hershel and Hanukkah Goblins

The Man Who Loved Books

The Quitting Deal

3D Paper Art, Russell Jackson, Bill Rhodes

2014-02-03T19:39:00.002-08:00

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.

I came across a link to Stephens, Biondi, De Cicco, Inc. in a post done by Leif Peng on one of his blogs, Female Illustrators of the mid-20th Century, which led me to the below ad for them.

image via leifpeng's photostream

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:

3D Paper Art by Cheong-ah Hwang via WonderHowTo

British Artist Su Blackwell via inhabitat

image via THE META PICTURE

image via DESIGN ILLUSTRATION

Outstanding work by artist Helen Musselwhite

The Santa Claus Book by Aurelius Battaglia

2013-12-01T21:49:00.002-08:00

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,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelius_Battaglia)

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:

image via BurningSettlersCabin

image via Shelly Davies

image via Turquoise Umbrella

image via Mid-century Modern Graphic Design

This book is great, love the illustrations!

Above illustrations from Cowboy Jack the Sheriff via Golden Gems

image via La Petit Robert

An Eskimo Birthday, Illustrator Glo Coalson

2013-09-22T19:14:00.001-07:00

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

Fish Head, Ilustrated by Marc Simont

2013-09-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

King Midas and the Golden Touch, Haig and Regina Shekerjian

2013-08-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

Real Science Riddles, Talivaldis Stubis

2013-08-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

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

John Henry, Ezra Jack Keats

2013-08-04T19:33:00.001-07:00

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

Book Spines, You're So Fine, Part Two

2013-07-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

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.

Image via Flickr

Image via Talking Covers

Image via Tumbler

Love this!

Image via Green Paper

What a lovely use for books that are falling apart!

Image via LittleDogVintage

Image via BootsNGus

Image via supernerfman

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.

Image via MariposaRoad

Image via cottagebookcompany.

To see my previous post on book spine designs, click here.

A Child's World of Stamps by Mildred Dupree

2013-07-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

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

Vintage Childrens Book: The Nest Book

2013-06-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

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

Vintage Childrens Book: Bring in the Pumpkins, Dahlov Ipcar

2013-06-14T19:45:00.003-07:00

Today's vintage children's book Bring in the Pumpkins was originally titled Hard Scrabble Harvest. I think the first title more accurately depicts the story of

a farmer and his wife who struggle to protect their crops from birds and beasts, as they plant, raise and harvest their crops.

Nice composition on the title pages!

I like all the patterns and repetitions in Ipcar's illustrations.

Bring in the Pumpkins

Written and Illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar

Read about: Dahlov Ipcar

Vintage Children's Book: How Animals Sleep, illustrated by Jack Keats

2013-05-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like a curmudgeon for saying this, but what is happening with girl's toys and play costumes? Everything is pink, glitter and bling. I understand many little girls of a certain age love the color pink and go through a princess stage. But it looks to me like a rather disproportionate number of girls toys are promoting limited ideals for girls: be a princess, rock star or a celebrity.

Where is this all going? I don't know. It would take up too much time and space on this post and I'm sure you don't want to read it. But I do like books like this one illustrated by Jack Keats - How Animals Sleep. It's interesting and real life. There. Off my podium. Nuff said.

How Animals Sleep

By Millicent Selsam

Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Scholastic Book Services, 1962