Sunday Safari - Pet Sounds

Christmas season is already upon us with its merry decorations and shopping frenzies. I can't think of a better soundtrack to accompany the festive spirit than the joyful animal carols echoing through the colors and harmonious graphics of these illustrations from around the world. Just imagine what kind of music this wild animal collective could play!

Cover of The Animal Fair by Alice and Martin Provensen

Illustration by Vera Ermolayeva

Ray Lamontagne concert poster by Furturtle Printworks, on sale at poster cabaret

Zoo Songs record cover by unknown artist,

thanks to Franco Matticchio for the scan

Bayou-Hoo by Amanda Visell

Two illustrations by Junzo Terada, seen just about everywhere these days!

Illustration by Jòzef Wilkon, upcoming feature at animalarium

Detail of a vintage match pack from El Paso, TX, from wackystuff's flickr collection

Mambo for Cats record cover by Jim Flora

JazzBird and JazzOlly by Ready2Rumbl

Blarollinger CD cover by Darling Clementine

Illustration from Around the World with Mouk by Marc Boutavant

The Cat and the Stars

The latest wonderful post on Iranian children's books at A Journey Round My Skull has inspired me to share

 another of my personal faves. I was recently happy to find out that The cat and the stars has been upoaded

 as part of the very rich Iranian collection (422 titles!) at the International Children's Digital Library

(naturally, I am planning more explorations of this wonderful site).

 Most of these books have been published by Shabaviz, a multi-awarded company based in Teheran.

 I first became aware of Shabaviz in 2004, after it won the New Horizons Award in Bologna with this motivation:

"Exceptionally, the jury has awarded the New Horizons prize not to one book but to an entire series 

of one publishing house. Our intent is to highlight the not uncommon case of a collection of books accomodating

 myriad graphic experiences, different styles, trials, research and story-telling. Yet all the books reflect great dignity,

 unfailing elegance, precision and originality. The collection is both rigorous and varied."

I have been visiting the Shabaviz booth ever since and love their production, 

which unfortunately in general is not for sale at the fair.

The cat and the stars was created by the very talented Neda Azimi, who was born in Teheran in 1980

 and studied Drama in university before obtaining a degree in illustraton. I really enjoy the great sense

 of color and composition in her collages, and an equally strong sense of humor shines through her depictions

 of the mischievous feline protagonist. Pay a visit to Neda's blog to see more of her lovely works.

The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa

Last of the Autumn Leaves

Winter solstice is fast approaching. After weeks of undressing, the nettle tree in front of my window is finally almost bare, only a few green leaves still hanging to one of the lower branches. It''s a good time to go on a leaf hunt and give new life to these drying beauties. You can look for inspiration in the beastly creations from the children's book Leaves by Iranian author Mehdi Mo'eeni. The volume was awarded first prize at the 1985 Bologna book fair.

Monday Matticchio