Childhood Dragons

Maurice Sendak, As I Went Over the Water, 1965, thanks to a wonderful series of posts 

on my vintage book collection (in blog form)

N.C. Wyeth, Legends of Charlemagne, 1924, via Animation Resources

Wanda Gag, The Funny Thing, 1928, thanks to Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

Ruth Gannett, My Father's Dragon, 1948

Pauline Baynes, 1951, thanks to Tania Covo

Miroslav Váša, The Bugaboos Or Little Natural History Of The Spooks, 

Ghosts And Phantoms, 1961, thanks to josefskrhola

Judy Varga, The dragon who liked to spit fire, 1962,

thanks to The Art of Children's Picture Books

J.P. Miller, 1963, thanks to my vintage book collection

John Martin Gilbert, A Dragon in a Wagon, 1966, thanks to Bonito Club

 Gerald Rose, Jabberwocky, 1968, thanks to bookvart

Rolf Lagerson, 1970, thanks to Martin Klasch

 Kenneth Mahood, The Laughing Dragon, 1970, 

 thanks again to Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

Bill Peet, How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head, 1971 thanks to Michael Sporn Animation

Mikhail Belomlinsky, The Hobbit, 1976 

 Peter Pavey, 1978

Rosamar Corcuera, El Amaru, 1998, via the International Children's Digital Library

Gwen Keraval

Creative Collage Creatures

Among the talented artists I've had the pleasure to discover in recent months,

Andrea d'Aquino is one of my favorites. I really love the textures and organic feel

of her collage-illustrations, and her refined use of color, humor and whimsicality. 

D'Aquino is a new Yorker of Italian American descent who has been working 

for many years as a top level art director and more recently as an illustrator.

To learn more about her life, vision, work process and sources of inspiration 

I encourage you to read her interview on Pikaland, I found it very inspiring! 

A recent cover for Uppercase magazine 

Andrea's entry for the The New Yorker's Eustace Tilley contest was inspired

by d'Aquino's own pet schnauzer and the "off-leash hours” at Central Park.

 A very proud and noble dog indeed!

Exquisite Monsters

Illustration from L'abécèdaire de la colère

As soon as I first saw the artworks of Swiss illustrator Emmanuele Houdart I was captivated

by their beauty and originality. Houdart was born in Geneve, where she studied art, and later moved to Paris

to pursue her career as an illustrator. SInce then she has illustrated over twenty children's books, 

some written by her and others by authors like Laëtitia Bourget. 

Houdarts' surreal worlds are populated with a strange variety of monsters and hybrid creatures,

fantastical representations of her inner dreams, thoughts and emotions.

Illustration from Les choses que je sais, 2003

Some of her books have won important prizes, including the 2005 Bologna Ragazzi Award for Monstres Malades. 

Illustration from L'apprentissage amoreux, 2005

Les voyages merveilleux de Lilou la Fée, 2006

Houdart creates her illustrations with felt-tip pens, a technique which leaves very little space

 for mistakes. Often she utilizes a very restrained color palette, which I find both elegant

 and powerful. I love her illustrations colored in shades of red and green.

Dedans, 2006

L'abécèdaire de la colère, 2008

Tout va bien Merlin!, 2009

Illustration from Saltimbanques, 2011

By the way, it's going to be a very French February here at Animalarium...

Jim's Jazzy Creatures

With today's post I want to celebrate the recent Italian edition of Jim Flora's 

The Day The Cow Sneezed. To my knowledge, this is the first time that a book 

by Flora has been published in my country, and as they say, better late than never!

My gratitude goes to the wonderful publisher Orecchio Acerbo for bringing us 

another classic, after their beautiful re-editions of Peter Newell.

Like many, I discovered Flora through his famous jazz record covers before realizing 

that he had written and illustrated 17 children's books between 1955 and 1982.

The Day the Cow Sneezed was published in 1957, and was the second of the series.

Here's a peek at many of the other volumes, with links to more illustrations and info when available. 

And if you are not familiar with the artist, you may read his biography in Italian and English.

The Fabulous Fireworks Family, 1955

Charlie Yup and his Snip-Snap Boys, 1959

Leopold the See-Through Crumbpicker, 1961, thanks to Stickers and Stuff

Kangaroo for Christmas, 1962

My Friend Charlie, 1964

Grandpa's Farm, 1965

Sherwood Walks Home, 1966

Fishing with Dad, 1967

The Joking Man, 1968

Pishtosh Bullwash and Wimple, 1972

The Great Green Turkey Creek Monster, 1976

Grandpa's Ghost Stories, 1978

My thanks goes to the website and blog dedicated to Flora, and to the always delicious

Vintage Kid's Book My Kid Loves, which has uploaded most of the artist's books.