This write-up is more personal than the other ones I’ve done so far, and I hope you will excuse me gushing for several minutes about some artists I love and admire. Sofia Prokofievna (b. 1928) is a Russian illustrator, poet, playwright, and, most importantly to me, the author of many original “fairy tales” for children….
Picture This: Gyo Fujikawa
I picked up my first Gyo Fujikawa book as a teenager in a used bookstore, because the cute, gentle artwork caught my eye. Titled simply Mother Goose, it was a hefty book containing many traditional folk and nursery rhymes and an equally impressive number of illustrations. The pages alternated between delicate pen-and-ink spots and cheerful…
Picture This: Kazuno Kohara
Kazuno Kohara’s work spikes daily life with a shot of magic. The stories are firmly rooted in common situations (moving into a new house, playing during winter, visiting the library, and making friends), but with a supernatural aspect (ghosts, dragons, an elemental force, a witch, and talking animals). The narrative never points out these presences…
Picture This: Tao Nyeu
Tao Nyeu’s work splices natural and domestic scenes together to a mesmerizingly adorable effect through the combined use of silkscreens and etchings. To date she has published three picture books as well as contributed to two anthologies, each work with a focus on friendship and non-conformity. Her storylines are peaceful and approachable for all ages…
Picture This: Maria van Lieshout
Maria van Lieshout is a children’s author/illustrator that is creating fresh, sleek, genre defiant picture books and is the subject of this month’s Picture This. Van Lieshout grew up in Oegstgeest, a small town in Holland, which by all appearances is an absolutely lovely place. After high school she attended The George Washington University in…
Picture This: Ruth Brown From an Early Childhood of Extreme Contrast to Master of Spooky Picture Books
Ruth Brown is the master of spooky picture books. She has written and/or illustrated dozens of books for young children covering a wide variety of topics, but her creepier works are the most distinctive with their balance between fear and charm. Brown was born in Devon, England in 1942. The first five years of her…
Picture This: Suzy Lee
Remember how last month the first Picture This post was going to be about Patricia Polacco? I thought I’d be able to write a succinct overview of Polacco’s work along with numerous insights into the underlying themes consistent throughout her body of work, with picture scans and a timeline of her life up to this…
Tip Your Hats to Picture This: Woman Authored Picture Books
Throwing Popcorn, our reviews of all ages movies and tv shows, has been “popping” all over the place. It could not be contained to a once-a-month format and is now a regular feature. Its replacement is Picture This — an in depth look at the work of woman authors and/or illustrators of children’s picture books. Prepare…