Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes (first published in 1936) was illustrated by Ruth Gervis.
When Gervis was asked to illustrate the book, the publishers had no idea that she was Streatfeild's sister.
There is a bit in The Vicarage Family, which is based on Streatfeild's girlhood, where Isobel (the Ruth Gervis character) talks about illustrating Vicky's (Noel Streatfeild) books when they are adults.
June 2007
NO, DAVID!
By David Shannon
Publisher: Scholastic, 32 pages
David is a little boy who behaves like a little monster, and David Shannon's vibrantly hued illustrations make him look like one too! Actually, David is just a regular kid. Like all children (most anyway) he gets into a whole lot of mischief.
I can relate to this book (or, rather, the mother in this book) because goodness knows I'm always crying, "No!" and "Stop it this instant!" and "Be silent! Now!" to my children.
David's sins include trying to empty the gold fish out of its bowl ("It was an accident! Honest!"), running naked out of the house (this is acceptable in some cultures and countries), picking his nose (this is acceptable in some households) and playing baseball in the living room (is this better or worse than trying to turn the bathroom into a swimming pool?).
But at the end of the day, no matter what he's done, his mum loves David all the same. And that's the way it should be!
As Dogger by Shirley Hughes has won the public's vote for all-time favourite Kate Greenaway medalist, I thought I would feature illustrations by her, from Another Lucky Dip, a collection of short stories by Ruth Ainsworth.
Michael Rosen is Britain's new children's laureate.
And, starting next year, the US will also have a similar representative and champion of children's books, called the national ambassador for young people's literature.
Who will it be? I'm guessing (and hoping) Maurice Sendak.
I thought it'd be interesting to highlight three illustrations, by different illustrators, of the same scene in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (originally titled Alice's Adventures Underground) by Lewis Carroll.
I thought it'd be fairly easy to find a well-known scene/image that had been depicted in all three of the editions of Alice that I own and am familiar with, but this wasn't so.
Alice, getting to grips (literally) with a live flamingo as a croquet mallet, is the scene I finally chose, illustrated by Lewis Carroll himself, John Tenniel, and Helen Oxenbury.
Erik Blevgad was born in Denmark and studied at the School of Applied Arts in Copenhagen. He has illustrated more than 100 children's books, including Twelve Tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Riddle Road by Elizabeth Spires.
Continue reading "The Last of the Dragons and Some Others " »
May 2007
Zen Shorts
Written and Illustrated by John J. Muth
Publisher: Scholastic, 40 pages
ISBN: 978-0439339117
THREE siblings learn important lessons from their new neighbour, a giant panda called Stillwater. "I'm sorry for arriving unannounced," he says, speaking with a "slight panda acccent".
Stillwater is wise and gentle, and very, very "zen" about everything, hence the book's title. Stillater tells each child a tale, from Zen and Taoist literature, and there are lessons to be learnt from all of them, but they are also just good, interesting stories.
Muth's words are simple, and his style elegant and easy to read. His watercolours are lovely, the colours true and bright, reflecting a serene and beautiful world. Black and white ink sketches illustrate Stillwater's tales and are more cartoonish and quirky than the colour plates. Personally, I found "Zen Shorts" inspiring. Others may just think, "What an adorable panda!" However you feel, this book is destined to be a classic.
I've chosen to once again feature the illustrator and writer Edward Ardizzone, this time his work in The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes.
This week's featured illustrations are from Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken. The pictures are by Pat Marriott.
Dido and Pa is part of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series.
April 2007
The Lost Thing: A Tale for Those Who Have More Important Things to Pay Attention To
By Shaun Tan
Publisher: Lothian Books, 32 pages
A boy encounters a "lost thing" on the beach. Despite it's huge size, no one else seems to notice it, being too busy with ... life. At home, it towers over his parents, as they read the papers and watch telly, but remains "invisible". When the thing is pointed out to them, they make irrelevant comments and then ignore it again. The boy decides to find a place for the lost thing to go. He sees an ad in the paper, posted by The Federal Department of Odds and Ends, whose motto is "Sweepus underum carpetae". It claims to be the place for lost things. The boy sets off, with the thing, to find this department, but gets mysteriously directed elsewhere. Will the lost thing ever belong? And what about the other lost things in this world. Do we even notice them or do we have more important things to pay attention to?
November 2008: Antoinette Portis: Not a Box
A box is a box is a box. Right? Wrong! A box is a racecar, a mountain, a robot, a skyscraper, a hotair balloon, a pirate ship ... basically anything and everything you want it to be.
This book is about how imagination can transform an object, and your life!
Rabbit and his box are rendered in black ink, while red embellishments show readers just where Rabbit's flights of fancy take him and his "not-a-box".
Absolutely brilliant!
