Vintage Collectible Art - in Books!

The "hunt" is the best part of the BOOKISH business I share with my daughter at The Brick Basement in Fullerton, CA.  (Hopefully I'll be able to sell some of our finds online - more on that in the near future).

I'm especially excited about some books I found recently from the set  BEST IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS, because they are from my own childhood - my mom read aloud to us from the books in the set we had growing up.  Our volumes didn't have the book covers, so it's doubly fun to see the books with their original covers intact!

The 42 volume set, published between 1957 and 1961 by Nelson Doubleday.  Each volume highlighted a mix of classics, original new stories, poetry, and non-fiction from many notable authors.  They also showcased art from some of the better know illustrators and artists of that time.

Here are a few favorite illustrations from the books I have:

Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier
illustrated by Idellete Bordigoni (from volume #37)

Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit
illustrated by Maruice Sendak (from volume #35)

Volume #33 (1960) was full of vintage treasures:

Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes
illustrated by Adrienne Adams

Sophocles the Hyena by Jim Moran
illustrated by Andy Warhol (yes, you read that correctly)

A Dime's Worth for Free by Marion Holland
illustrated by Richard Scarry

Volume #31 (1960) is especially poignant, because of some very collectible art by the late Maurice Sendak that I'll show you in my next post;  but I'll end today's with these illustrations by the Petershams...

The Picnic Basket by Margery Clark
illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham

Not to be missed:  Volumes 1 and 18, with artwork by the D'Aulaires; Volume 20, with Jean de Brunhoff's Babar; Volume 40 has Dorothy and Oz by L. Frank Baum, with illustrations by Richard Scarry; and other volumes throughout the series that include art by Leonard Weisgard, Don Freeman, Paul Galdone, Barbara Cooney, and Peter Spier, to name a few.
Go here for a complete list of the 42 volumes and their author/illustrators.

You CAN Judge These Books By Their Covers!

(But you don't have to, because they're already CLASSICS - soon to be adorned with Penguin Threads Deluxe Classic series bookcovers.)

These breathtaking covers, which wraparound and include french flaps, will be embossed to have the feeling of the intricate embroidery that is being created by Jilian Tamaki.  Click HERE to read her Sketchblog.

The story of Black Beauty never looked so foreboding...

My personal favorite:

Not to be missed - due out in October 2011.

Happy Birthday, Dear Frances

Yesterday marked the 50th birthday for Russell Hoban's little badger, Frances. Carol Baicker-McKee, an author/illustrator that I've written about, wrote a special tribute to Frances that you can read from her blog, DOODLES AND NOODLES, here.

Carol Baicker-McKee has lent her fun 3-dimensional art photographs to several children's books, one of which I have on my Christmas Book List. It's MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHEEPS!, by Julie Steigemeyer. I love Carol's style. Click here to see her other books and read my past blog post.

Frances was in the broom closet, singing:

Happy Thursday to you,

Happy Thursday to you,

Happy Thursday, dear Alice,

Happy Thursday to you.

"Who is Alice?" asked Mother.

"Alice is somebody that nobody can see," said Frances. "And that is why she does not have a birthday. So I am singing Happy Birthday to her."

"Today is Friday," said Mother.

"It is Thursday for Alice," said Frances...

"I am sure Alice will have cake and candy on her birthday," said Mother.

"But Alice does not have a birthday," said Frances.

"Yes, she does," said Mother. "Even if nobody can see her, Alice has one birthday every year, and so do you. Your birthday is two months from now. Then you will be the birthday girl. But tomorrow is Gloria's birthday, and she will be the birthday girl."

"That's how it is, Alice," said Frances. "Your birthday is always the one that is not now."
From A BIRTHDAY FOR FRANCES, by Russell Hoban, with charcoal illustrations by his wife Lillian Hoban

FAIRY TALES FROM GENNADY SPIRIN

"It is my great pleasure to create paintings, whether for galleries or children's books, because it is important to maintain child-like wonder to truly appreciate the amazing world we live in.  What do I want a viewer to feel when they look at my work?  My answer is simple:  absolute delight!" - Gennady Spirin.

FAVORITE FAIRY TALES BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, LITTLE MERMAIDS AND UGLY DUCKLINGS

The Little Mermaid

The Ugly Duckling

In my last post, I introduced you to Russian artist and illustrator, Gennady Spirin.  He has also done some beautiful picture book adaptations of many well known fairy tales from all over the world...


FAIRY TALES, ILLUSTRATED BY SPIRIN:

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (Grimm Fairytale)

GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (Grimm Fairytale)

click here to see the gorgeous illustrations!

THE CRANE WIFE (by Odd Bodkin, Japanese Folktale)

(click here to see illustrations)

THE TALE OF THE FIREBIRD (Russian fairy tale)

A RUSSIAN ARTIST, GENNADY SPIRIN, ILLUSTRATES CLASSIC TOLSOY AND CHEKHOV STORIES FOR CHILDREN

Born in a small town near Moscow, Russia, on Christmas Day, 1948, Gennady Spirin had an artistic talent recognized at an early age.  He graduated from Surikov School of Fine Art at the Academy of Arts in Moscow and Moscow Stoganov Institute of Art.  He developed his own style over the years, combining traditional Russian contemporary art technique with the great traditions of the Renaissance.  His sumptuous colors and delicate lines set his unique illustrations in a class of their own; they are full of realistic precision, but also have an ethereal quality that lends itself perfectly to both classics and fairy tale stories.

My next post will feature some of his fairy tale adaptations, but today I want to share two of his picture books written by classic authors of Russian literature...

PHILIPOK - this is a retelling of Tolstoy's simple tale set in 19th-century Russia. Young Philipok wants nothing more than to go to school with his elder brother, Peter. He waits until his grandmother falls asleep, gets his hat and coat, and sets out through the snow to the schoolhouse on the other side of the village. Cold and frightened when he arrives, he earns the privilege of staying at school.

KASHTANKA In this rather quirky story by Anton Chekov (also set in 19th-Century Russia), a dog, separated from her master, is taken in by a kindly circus performer.   Kashtanka quickly adjusts to her new surroundings, which are shared with a goose, a white cat, and a pig - but in the end she is heartwarmingly reunited with her original owners. (ages 8 and up)

DIANE STANLEY: COMBINING ART, WRITING, AND DESIGN

Diane Stanley really takes the research process of her illustrated biographies for children seriously - and has fun in the process!  Her husband, Peter Vennema is co-author of many of her books because he does much of the preliminary library research for the material most pertinent to her chosen subject.  They then read the material, with Peter giving his input and later helping with editing. This husband and wife team travel together and visit different countries as part of Diane's research for her latest upcoming book. She enjoys visiting where her subjects lived and walking where they walked (if possible!)

Diane got interested in writing for children after receiving her Masters Degree in 1970, getting married, and becoming a mother.  She says:
Suddenly everything changed.  Though I continued to work as a freelance medical illustrator, my heart began to move in a different direction. As I spent hour after hour, cuddling with my kids on the couch, turning the pages of a book, I kept thinking: "This is what I’d really like to do. This is important." Children’s books combined art, writing, and design, all things I liked to do. More important, they opened the minds of young readers and helped bring families together. I wanted to be a part of something like that.

Diane's picture book biographies make great read aloud stories for children ages 7 and up.  Her illustrations are full-color  Gouache paintings.  Here's a sampling of some of her beautiful work...

PETER THE GREAT  Peter was ten when he became the crowned tsar of Russia.  He eventually achieved his goal of bringing modern change to Russia (not all welcome) that he learned from visiting Western Europe.  He also built a naval port and a new glittering capital city, St. Petersburg, on what had been a swampy wilderness.  Detailed illustrations of the people and countryside of Russia.



BARD OF AVON:  THE STORY OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Using the few facts actually known about William Shakespeare, Diane has done a wonderful job of drawing us into Shakespeare's Elizabethan world of theater, actors, politics, and his plays.




CHARLES DICKENS:  THE MAN WHO HAD GREAT EXPECTATIONS Gorgeously illustrated book about one of the world's best loved writers, with accurate portrayals of 19th Century fashion, architecture, and design.





Go to Diane Stanley's website to learn more about her and see more of her wonderful books.

BOOKS FOR YOUR BUDDING ARCHITECT, INVENTOR, OR ENGINEER...

Yesterday, while at my friend's house, I was directed by her young cartographer son, Jude, to look on her refrigerator door at an amazing hand drawn aerial "map" of their house.  His mom told me that he had also drawn a map of the whole floor plan of Smart and Final (a huge grocery store.)  They plan on photo-copying the artwork and giving it to the store manager!  

I love supportive parents like my friend, who encourage and applaud their kids' talents and interests!  Books are also a great way to help ignite these sparks of interest (or fuel the fire that may already be there!)   If you have a little engineer or architect in-the-making, you should check out some of these great CHILDREN'S books on PHYSICS, TECHNOLOGY, INVENTIONS, AND ENGINEERING:

The Lever and The Pulley by Hal Hellman (ages 4-8)

Mickey’s Magnet by Franklyn M. Branley and Eleanor K. Vaughan.  One of my kids' favorites!  (ages 4- 8)

How Do you Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells (ages 4-8)

Wheels At Work by Bernie Zubrowski (ages 9-12)

Diary of an Early American Boy by Eric Sloane.  This is a reprint of an actual early-19th-century diary  of a 15-year-old boy.  The concise notebook is accompanied by Sloane's 72 drawings and explanatory narrative. (ages 10 and up)

Robots, What They Are, What They Do by Fredericka Berger (ages 4-8)

The Phone Book:  Instant Communication from Smoke Signals to Satellites and Beyond by Elizabeth MacLeod  (ages 8-12)

The New Way Things Work by David Macauley (And his others: City, Castle, Cathedral, Pyramid, Underground, Ship, Mill, Building Big.  (ages 6 and up - young children will love just looking at the pictures; the story/text is written more for ages 10 and up).

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (ages 4-8)

Amazing Impossible Erie Canal by Cheryl Harness (ages 8 and up)

Eureka! It’s an Automobile by Jeanne Bendick  (ages 8 and up)  Out of print - look at the library for it.

Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick.   Another of our family's favorites. (ages 9-12)

Rocket: How a Toy Launched the Space Age by Richard Maurer.  (ages 9-12)

Story of Inventions by Frank P. Bachman (ages 10 and up)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham.  Fascinating biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, an eighteenth-century nautical wonder and mathematical wizard.  (ages 10 and up)