Judy Varga II

A special treat for bonfire night is 'The dragon who liked to spit fire', by Judy Varga,  published in 1961 by Morrow. This lovely book is published in two colours purple and orange which zing across the pages, an absolute delight.

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. 

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. 

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.