louise on the left (coast)

I always kept my favorite books from my childhood.  Including all my original paperbacks and hardcovers featuring those illustrated by Pauline Baynes. For weblink featuring more of her book covers, click here... Pauline Baynes's illustrations were just  so wonderful and creative.  Her simple black and white images fired up the imagination and were the perfect counterpoint to all the great writing for children by C. S. Lewis and J. R. Tolkien. I saved every one of her books to read to my own children who also fell under her same creative spell. I realize that publishers have by now probably replaced most of her original work with more contemporary images, but why bother changing greatness?   Her work was astonishingly creative and bold, considering what a prudish society we live in.  Much of her imagery should have had Puritans in a tizzy, drawing all those Druid-friendly characters whisking young girls into a wooded dell in such a beguiling, appealing way -- I'd ha

My favorite children's author is, hands down, Maurice Sendak. However, my favorite of his books is not the hugely famous   Where The Wild Things Are , (yes, the same book that  that Spike Jonze based his hit film on ), although that's a good one.  Instead, my  personal favorite Sendak book is the much lesser known book from 1967 called: " Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life " Introducing "Jennie"  I remember my mother bringing this book home from one of her library conventions.  She's always been something of a genius about spotting great children's literature early on, and always brought gifts from these trips which I still treasure today.  Posters and odd first edition books by eccentric artists, like Edward Gorey (who apparently shared her love of 1920s raccoon coats) and the sweet husband-and-wife team of the D'Aulaires.  She always came home with great gifts, and even better stories to tell.   In any case, ever since th