Charley Harper's Animal Kingdom

 Charley Harper has been around for awhile, but for some reason it's only now that we've discovered him!  

Charley Harper's Animal Kingdom

2015

Apparently Todd Oldham (he writes the introduction) was instrumental in bringing about this collection of Harper's work.   Every page is wonderful!  Charlotte, Henry and I all took a turn pouring over it.  Here's only a small sampling... 

The Big Green Book

 Who knew that the poet Robert Graves wrote this unusual children's story?  

The Big Green Book

Robert Graves

illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Jack is orphaned and must live with his dowdy Aunt and Uncle.  When he finds a mysterious Green Book that teaches him magic spells, he unleashes all sorts of tricks and mischief on his unsuspecting guardians.  Sendak's black and white illustrations are ornate but in a deceptively simple way and are as always a favorite!

Aesop's Fables

 Of course there are plenty of versions of these famous stories.  I like this old paperback one we have with the orange and black illustrations.  

Aesop's Fables
retold by Ann McGovern 1966

Ronald Searle

Introduced Charlotte to Ronald Searle today and we had a good laugh.

The Penguin Ronald Searle 1960

These were some of our favorites...

Honey, I Love

Honey, I Love

Eloise Greenfield 1986 

pictures by Diane and Leo Dillon

Found this little hardback gem from a school discard pile.  Greenfield's poems are full of the everyday world seen through a child's eyes.  Riding the train, skipping rope, feeling the energy of music, she captures that simple wonderment and joy that children instinctually have.  As always, the Dillon's artwork is so beautiful.

(This one is for all those little sisters out there!)

Imaginaries

 Lately I've been mostly buying used books published at least 50 years ago.  So this was a rare treat to pick up at Barnes and Nobel. 

The Imaginaries

Little scraps of Larger Stories

Emily Winfield Martin 2020

I have loved this artist for a while and have bought all of her books.  Her pictures and simple words are so pretty and wistful.  I especially love the concept of this book, the little scraps of paper and writing, and the mysterious vignettes of stories.