vintage picture book illustrations

Forget shoes or jewels or just about anything else, if I could have a collection of anything - it'd be vintage children's picture books. Of course like any collection, building such a library can get expensive, but lucky for me there are some amazing sites that cultivate the images that my greedy little hands want to hold. Below are some lovelies from some of my favorite picture book blogs and websites. Enjoy the feast for your eyes!

The blog "Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves" is a must visit for any picture book lover. The blogger Burgin Streetman has the most amazing personal collection of vintage finds which she discusses in loving detail, shares in great giveaways, and also sells in her etsy shop. I've discovered so many great illustrators (and stories) through her posts, here are a few:

from "This is New York" by M. Sasek, 1960

from "Miss Esta Maude's Secret" by W. T. Cummings (1961)

from "The Fabulous Firework Family" by James Flora, 1955

"Vintage Children's Books" is a flickr pool that has not only shares images from picture books, but also vintage illustrations from coloring books, sketches and greeting cards:

from "Words" by Joe Kaufman, 1963

original sketch of Setting off for the North Pole by E.H. Shepard, 1926

(located at the Victoria & Albert Museum)

from "Frog Went a Courtin'" retold by John Langstaff, illustrationed by Feodor Rojankovwky, 1983

"We Heart Books" is an Australian blog maintained by two mums who also run the We Heart Books Store. They not only share images of the amazing vintage children's books that they grew up with (that are often unknown to American audiences), but also beautiful contemporary Australian picture books. I totally want to be friends with them:

from "Singing Away the Dark" by Julie Morstad (2010)

from "Sunshine" by Jan Omerod, 1982

from "A Little House of Your Own" by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers, 1957

Sadly, the blogger of "Golden Gems" has been on a hiatus for a seriously long time, but her archive of Golden Books is deep and I love to just revisit some of the stunning images created for those slender little volumes:

from "The Animal Fair" by Alice and Martin Provensen, 1952

endpages from "The Large and Growly Bear" by Gertrude Crampton, illustrated by J. P. Miller (1961)

from "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson

illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, 1951

"Fantasy Vintage Home" is another flickr pool that I adore. Although this pool includes lots of images from ads and magazines, I always end up stumbling upon images of homes from picture books that I want to dive into and live in (no matter whether those homes are supposed to belong to people or mice):

from "See Again, Say Again" by Antonio Frasconi, 1964

from a Slavic (Russian?) children's book, 1968

from "Songs We Sing" illustrated by William Dugan, 1957

Celebrating Children's Book Week

Image courtesy of indiefixx

Happy Children's Book Week! In honor of these days dedicated to the celebration of children's literature, we have decided to make it a week of book talk (bear with us :) )- just some thoughts about a few of the amazing books, authors, and illustrators of the genre.

A particularly appropriate selection for kicking off a week about children's literature is 2006's Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. The tale is not only an impressive union of narrative and picture, it is a storybook tribute to libraries.

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Miss Merriweather, head librarian and decorum-keeper, first meets Lion when he saunters past his stone counterparts and into the stacks. Scowling circulation assistant Mr. McBee seems intent on having the enormous cat ejected, but his boss declares that as long as he breaks no rules, he is welcome. The beast does misbehave though, roaring loud displeasure when storytime ends. At Miss Merriweather's reprimand, the contrite-looking lion promises to reform. In fact, he becomes something of a fixture in the building, dusting with his tail, licking envelopes, and serving as a stepstool for small patrons. Everyone appreciates him–except Mr. McBee. When Lion lets out another tremendous RAAAHHHRRR!, the man bursts into Miss Merriweather's office to snitch–and there he finds her in distress, having fallen from a stool and broken her arm. Lion, à la Lassie, has saved the day, but he is so chagrined by his own rule-breaking behavior that he doesn't return to the library. People miss him. Even Mr. McBee. A feel-good ending and a reminder that Sometimes, there is a good reason to break the rules bring the story to its most-satisfactory conclusion. - School Library Journal Review

Ms. Knudsen's story is original, humorous and poignant, but in my opinion, it is the illustration of Mr. Hawkes that makes this tale particularly special. His muted palette reflects the quiet, timeless atmosphere of the library, yet the expressive nature of the drawings captures the often lively bustle of the space.

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Image courtesy of bisforbooks

Image courtesy of goingonabookhunt

Library Lion is one of those ideal picture books, perfect for read- alouds and a beautiful addition to any child's personal collection.

the gifts of GIFs

Another neat discovery via my husband. Watch these photos carefully and you'll see just the slightest thing happen: a man turning the pages of his newspaper, a taxi driving by as reflected in a cafe window (click on the images if they aren't "moving" for you). This is what it looks like when animated GIFs are done by artists. To see more work by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, check out their Tumblr: From Me to You.

deviantART

Image courtesy of *Gehoersturz via deviantART

I found this image on deviantART and bookmarked it. It has been ages since I took the few Art History classes I have under my belt, so I can't speak to the composition, tones, or technique- I've become unfamiliar with the jargon. I will say I find it striking and interesting and since I bookmarked it, I have revisited the photograph a dozen times.

deviantART is like an immense arts festival at your fingertips. It is a collection of millions of works, in all sorts of mediums, from artists around the globe. Every now and then I browse, and on occasion I bookmark an image I want to spend time figuring out. There is no shortage of talented artists out there and this is a place to see the work of many of them.

"A Mother’s Prayer for Its Child"

A blogger shared the following awesome "prayer" from Tina Fey's Bossypants. It makes me want to read the book even more now...

"A Mother's Prayer for Its Child" by Tina Fe

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.”

from "Bossypants" (via Melody Godfred)

Paper Theater

"Tranquil Morning- Two Sisters"

"He found the rarest of thistles by his rock in the wood."

"When she held her child she could walk through the forest, eyes high above the tree-tops."

"Her parents had named her Spring, yet her heart belonged to autumn..."

"The Rose Thief"

"Dreams for Weary Sailors"

"Advice from a Robin..."

Artist Elly MacKay photographs her scenes of drawn, cut, layered paper to create these curious and theatrical images. It is a fascinating process that encompasses her wide array of artistic talents. Each print is an intricate, multifaceted piece of art.

All images courtesy of theaterclouds

Poem in Your Pocket

Though officially celebrated on April 14th, I say celebrate national Poem in Your Pocket Day everyday! The idea is pretty self-explanatory - carry a poem you love with you or share one with those around you. The Academy of American Poets has some handy-dandy poetry books printed on tear-away sheets for just this purpose, but also poem PDFs to print and share.

see full list of poem PDFs here

Right now I wouldn't mind carrying around the poem found under "Moth" in my pocket for a few days. It's one of my favorites.

"Design"
by Robert Frost

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth--
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth--
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.

Happy Easter

Have a lovely weekend (whether it involves an Easter egg hunt or not)!

illustration from "The Egg Tree" (1950) by Katherine Milhous

via estelle & ivy

my kind of princess

I understand the Disney Princess craze sweeping the nation is troubling to many parents (see the recent success of Peggy Orenstein's book Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture). If my daughter was not as enthusiastic about searching for slugs as she is about Belle from "Beauty and the Beast", I may be concerned about the princess effect too, but since I am not immediately distressed.....I really like these ribbon sculpture barrettes of the Disney Princesses.

What I like about them is that they are not so commercial or "girlie-girl". The designs are recognizable, but minimal and simple. They are little pieces of ribbon art really- and I'm charmed.

Image courtesy of SweetTangerineBoutiq

baby's nook

image by Erin Williamson of Design Crisis via parenting.com

I'm presently in the midst of doing all the boring but necessary shopping for baby Sweet Pea by picking out the safest of the practical things that consumer reports recommends like the car seat, stroller, and play yard. All this stuff is, of course, important, but I want to spend some time on the unimportant details of gearing up for Sweet Pea like decorating his world. 

And though I'd love to go all out in a baby nursery, the little fella will be sharing a bedroom with his parents for about a year or so until we move into another house. Nevertheless, although he will have more of a nook than a nursery - I'm looking forward to making that space his own. And the spaces that inspire me the most are the ones which not only look bright, airy and simple, but are ones which I would, as a grown up lady, want to live in too. For example, I'm still in love with the look of this baby room, but I'm also a fan of this nursery by Laura Naples of Orange Beautiful, this baby room belonging to Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo, and this one designed by Erin Williamson of Design Crisis. There is so much inspiration to take in - I just have to figure out where to start...