Brooklynite, Ezra Jack Keats was one of the first artists whose work I could identify on sight in childhood. There was an undeniable charm in his portrayal of urban life and multiculturalism. After reading the books, I remember sitting and writing my own stories based on the pictures. His work resonated deeply with me as a child, but even more now as an adult. Alongside urban life and multiculturalism is the overall innocence of childhood that I still find quite comforting, hence the children's book collection.
Favorite Guy bought this vintage (1970) first print, library issue of Hi Cat! for me this Christmas and I am in love! Check it out.
I am too excited to add Hi Cat! my collection of children's books. Who were some of your favorite childhood artists, authors and illustrators?
13 comments:
The Snow Queen and other Tales, translated by Marie Ponsot with illustrations by Adrienne Segur.
http://segur.artpassions.net/
This was a Christmas gift was I was 7 years old. My childhood was not a particularly happy one, and I remember escaping into the crystalline beautiful of her pictures. There is a sadness and longing for escape that underpins many of these stories, which I found both familiar and comforting.
My favorite childhood author was Judy Blume. I love the pictures of Hi Cat! Innocence and urban living are two things that don't get paired enough, but they should. Thanks for sharing this. I feel very good right now.
Must ponder the question on favorite artists/authors/illustrators...
Just read the term 'retro fabbiness' on Cicada Daydream's blog and find it very fitting for this post as well.
I loved The Snowy Day. It was one of mu favorites to read to my kids. It is sitting in a box along with hundreds of other children's books waiting for the day my kids have their own kids and I can sit and read to them!
I love this art...never heard of Ezra though.
I remember as a kid whenever I saw Ezra Jack Keats name on a book, I knew that it would be a good one and I'd make sure it got in my "check out" stack. Now, ask me to actually name one of those books and I can't do it. But the mere mention of his name evokes that warm, comfortable feeling associated with good childhood memories.
Oh man, when I was a kid, I'd spend all day sitting in my room reading... Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary were favorites, but the two books I read OVER AND OVER again were Francis Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden," and "The Little Princess." Those books were MAGICAL. I can't tell you how many stories I made up--how many fantasy lands I escaped into--every time I read those two books.
I, too, am a HUGE Ezra Jack Keats fan, but I didn't discover him until I had babies of my own. The first book in my now ginormous children's book collection was Keats' The Snowy Day. It's STILL a favorite around here. What a WONDERFUL Christmas gift from favorite guy... so thoughtful!
"Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein was one of one of my favorites as a kid. But there are 2 books that have stayed with me. One was called "The Iceberg Hermit" about a guy that gets stranded in the artic and raises a baby polar bear into an adult. The other was called "Peter Perfect." It was about a boy who was perfect. The ending scared the crap out of me.
What I like about these images is how simple they are and yet the message they convery is so intense. The colours help towards that, too. I can see why you remembered this book so vividly. Thank you very much indeed.
Greetings from London.
Francis Hodgson Burnett, Tasha Tudor, and Marguerite de'Angeli were my favorites as a child - I still read them today, especially when I'm sick and want my mother.
The de'Angeli's were old family friends and I got to meet Marguerite at the age of 6, when she autographed my favorite book at the time: Thee, Hannah.
Thanks for asking us to dig up those memories. :-)
Happy 2009!
Kate
Oh! I love Ezra Jack Keats, but have somehow missed Hi Cat. As soon as I finish here, I'm off to my library website to search for this. I've loved your comments, too. And reading about which books other people love. I'm a teacher in love with books. So you can bet I could go on and on about favorite books for children. On and on, I tell you. I'll try to keep it brief. What I was about 7 I checked The Lonely Doll by Dare Williams out of our library until our librarian wouldn't let me check it out anymore. She said other children needed a chance. After that I only got to check it out every three weeks. Do you know the book? It is all black and white photographs. I still adore it. Recently I found the companion books had been reissued. For her 7th birthday my daughter, Sloane, got her own copies.
Oh the memories that this author brings back...
Thanx for the memories :-)
Gosh! we never had books like this at primary level school when I was there (er....many moons ago) we had Janet and John books here in the UK
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