Children of Other Lands

 Holling Clancy Holling has some of the best and brightest children's book illustrations out there.  We've enjoyed a bunch of his books, especially Paddle to the Sea.   Though a bit outdated and at times culturally insensitive, Children of Other Lands tells the stories of how children live in different parts of the world.  This is one of those vintage books in our collection that we don't often read, but love it for the artwork alone.

Children of Other Lands

Watty Piper

illustrated by Lucille W. and H.C. Holling 1943

Obsessive About Octopuses

 We are fans of Owen Davey's artwork and these colorful, informative books from Flying Eye Books.  There's something Charlie Harper-ish about the pictures and designs that I just absolutely love.  So far we just have this one about octopuses (when you build up your library mostly at second hand shops it can take a long time and luck to find specific books!) but we want to add more!

Obsessive About Octopuses

Owen Davey 2020

Are You My Friend Today?

 I will never pass up a Fujikawa book, especially these large oversized ones depicting all kinds of adorable children.  (I even found one that looked like Charlotte when she was little!) 

Are You My Friend Today?

Gyo Fujikawa 1988

Beginning endpages

(The little girl with yellow hair sitting at the bottom reminded me of little Charlotte!)

I adore this poem and picture!

End endpages

The Buried Moon

 This morning's moon was large and luminous hiding behind the clouds before it set.  I always love moon books. 

The Buried Moon 

Joseph Jacobs

pictures by Susan Jeffers 1969

Susan Jeffers' drawings are dark and mysterious in this tale about how the moon gets caught and buried so that all the boggles and horrors of the darkness can have their way in the night.  This old story comes from Joseph Jacobs' More English Fairy Tales from 1893.

Rosie Revere, Engineer, Iggy Peck, Architect, and Ada Twist, Scientist

Iggy Peck Architect 

Andrea Beaty

illustrated by David Roberts 2007

Rosie Revere, Engineer 

Andrea Beaty 

illustrated by David Roberts 2013

Ada Twist, Scientist

Andrea Beaty

illustrated by David Roberts 2016

 These three books were a major score at the thrift store!  It all started with Iggy Peck, Architect, about a boy driven to build and design buildings.  He even makes a bridge that saves his class and wins his teacher over! From there Andrea Beaty imagines other classmates' stories including Rosie Revere who wants to be an engineer and has to learn the value in failing sometimes.  And finally Ada Twist who is alway asking the questions "why," while her parents learn to celebrate her endless curiosity.  The illustrations are what really set these books apart.  The patterns, the details, the mid century flair!