Historic graphic novels

Graphic novels seem like a new format to many librarians, but the early graphic novels in the U.S. date back at least 80 years. Lynd Ward, the distinguished illustrator of many children's books during the mid-twentieth century published his first graphic novel in 1929. Now the American Library is reprinting several of his books in a boxed set with an introductin by Art Spiegelman. These books don't resemble recent graphic novels very closely. They consist mainly of full page woodcuts, beautifully detailed, and with no words at all. The story is told entirely through pictures--black-and-white pictures at that. If you don't think such a book could hold your interest, you ought to take a look at these. They are remarkably beautiful creations. You probably don't want to order them for the children's collection, but for an adult collection they will be a valuable source for art students, writers, illustrators, and anyone interested in American literary history--or just a good read.

Something good for your library--and the birds

Like just about everyone else in the U.S., children's illustrators are worried about the oil spill in the Gulf and how it is affecting wildlife. Now a number of them have joined together to offer small illustrations that are available for a donation to one of the nonprofits working to save birds and other creatures being affected. An article in School Library Journal tells how this new website will work. Kelly Light is the generous illustrator who cared enough to set this whole thing up on her Ripple blog. Those of us in California and other Western States will have to get up early to join in because the bidding starts at 6:30 AM Eastern time, but it's worth rising at dawn to send some help, especially when it comes with a beautiful illustration as a remembrance.Thank you Kelly Light for making this possible!

Another giant passes

As the years go by, many of the great authors and illustrators of the late twentieth century are leaving the scene. Today's news is that John Schoenherr, the honored illustrator of Owl Moon, which won the Caldecott Medal, has died. Most libraries still have copies of Owl Moon, written by Jane Yolen, on their shelves so a new generation of children can continue to see the mysterious, unforgettable illustrations of a night in the woods. Knowing there won't be more books from John Schoenherr makes a librarian realize how irreplaceable some of the children's books in their collections are. I'm a fan of e-books for many purposes, but having a digital copy of a classic book still isn't the same as a beloved paper copy. I wonder how John Schoenherr felt about his legacy. He was also an illustrator of science-fiction books including the classic Dune series so presumably he kept his eyes on the future and welcomed changes, but there are some works of art that shouldn't change too much. John Schoenherr's illustrations were among the keepers.

Follow that monkey!

There are few stories more intriguing to librarians than the stories of how their favorite children's books came to be written. The Curious George books, as most children's librarians know, were written and illustrated by H.A. Rey with help from his partner and wife, Margret Rey. Now the Jewish Museum in New York has created an exhibit based on the story of how the Reys escaped from Europe during World War II and created George as they were on the run. Despite the aura of innocence and naivete which the books exude, they came out of a world of war and terror. George's thoughtless escapades, from which he is always rescued by the Man in the Yellow Hat, have enchanted several generations of children, but the books were written by adults under the threat of concentration camps and death. The Museum exhibit shows letters and part of H.A. Rey's diary, most of which do not reveal much about what the couple was thinking as they fled from Paris to the South of France, then bicycled to Lisbon and managed to get to South America and finally New York. We will probably never know what the authors were thinking as they wrote and drew the pictures for the early books. Perhaps they survived by creating for themselves a world safe from war and death and where the threats of runaway bicycles and all-too-buoyant balloons can always be solved by a helpful hand from the cryptic Man in the Yellow Hat. This exhibit will show in New York until late summer and in the fall will move to the Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Judging the covers

People who love picture books--both children and adults--almost always judge a book by its cover. But who judges the covers? Well, read this blog "Jacket Knack" to find out about some of the best covers now appearing. Once you get starting looking at them it's hard to break away. How many children's picture books have no words at all on the cover? That's not a question I've ever thought about but it's fascinating to see the examples given in this blog. Anyone who cares about children's picture books will enjoy reading the posts about their covers.

Season of Awards is starting

As winter comes, librarians scan the journals, newspapers, and websites for lists of Best Books of the Year. One of the first contenders in this contest of lists is the N.Y. Times list of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009.
No one interested in picture books should miss the thumbnail pictures of the book covers, each linked to its review in the paper. Most of the styles of illustration now popular for children are represented--except for the growing group of graphic novel formats. One of the chosen books is an unconventional retelling of familiar folktales with stark, bold illustrations, another is an elaborate pop-up book that would never survive a child's handling. Some of these books will be more popular with adults than with children, but each of them represents an aspect of children's book culture today. Komako Sakai's The Snow Day brings memories of Ezra Jack Keat's classic Snowy Day, but this time instead of a recognizable child, the leading character is a bunny who lives like a human. Is this perhaps a move into abstraction so critics cannot raise issues of race or stereotyping? All of these books, although beautiful and worthy of a child's attention, seem curiously remote from the world our children live in. They exist perhaps to serve the needs of artists and other adults more than the needs of children. This is a trend worth thinking about.