Tuesday, 3 November 2026

Gerald Rose XVIII

 







Ah the great Gerald Rose! I adore! This time his talents were put to illustrating 'The Pied Piper' retold by Barbara Ireson and published by Faber in 1961. If rats looked like these I would want them to stay, they are so full of joy and fun. 













Monday, 2 November 2026

Aurelius Battaglia I



'Captain Kangaroo's read-aloud book', illustrated by  Aurelius Battaglia (1910-1984), text by various authors, published in 1962 by Random House.

The illustrations are both fun and comforting in their soft textured palette and have great shapes and line. Aurelius was born to Italian émigrés in Washington DC, he trained at   the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. He worked as a muralist and cartoonist before moving west and working for Walt Disney as an animator on Dumbo, Pinocchio and Fantasia. 








Sunday, 1 November 2026

Celestino Piatti IV




The golden apple : a story', by Max Bolliger, illustrated by Celestino Piatti, published in 1970 by Atheneum. Where animals in the forest gather to wait and claim a golden apple. 





A squirrel comes through the tree tops, dislodges the apple and it falls.




The animals fight over it and then leave bruised.


Celestino's style is very like some of his contemporaries like Fernand Léger for example in his use of line. It would have made extraordinary stained glass windows. 

Saturday, 31 October 2026

Jam Dong III

 

An apocalyptic parade by Jam Dong, where she is inspired by 'The Lantern of Hokusai (see below). Happy Halloween.




Wednesday, 28 October 2026

Janet McCaffery II



'The Witch of Hissing Hill' written by Mary Calhoun and illustrated by Janet McCaffery, published in 1964 is a delight of a book just look at those end papers! It has a bold bright collage simmple print style style throughout and just wonderful illustrations.