book pickings

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children's books

  1. Three Classic Children’s Stories: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack the Giant-Killer, and Rumpelstiltskin James Donnelly Priceless – Edward Gorey brings his unmistakable aesthetic of the irreverent fancy to some of history’s most beloved storytelling.

    Three Classic Children’s Stories: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack the Giant-Killer, and Rumpelstiltskin

    James Donnelly

    Priceless – Edward Gorey brings his unmistakable aesthetic of the irreverent fancy to some of history’s most beloved storytelling.
  2. The Great Race Nathan Kumar Scott Stunning adaptation of an Indonesian folktale featuring Kanchil the trickster mouse deer, illustrated in the stunning Mata-ni-Pachedi style of ritual textile painting from the Gujarat region by artist Jagdish Chitara and written by Nathan Kumar Scott — a first-of-its-kind use of this traditional folk art in children’s storytelling.

    The Great Race

    Nathan Kumar Scott

    Stunning adaptation of an Indonesian folktale featuring Kanchil the trickster mouse deer, illustrated in the stunning Mata-ni-Pachedi style of ritual textile painting from the Gujarat region by artist Jagdish Chitara and written by Nathan Kumar Scott — a first-of-its-kind use of this traditional folk art in children’s storytelling.
  3. The Gnomes of Gnu Umberto Eco Amazing abstract children’s book by Umberto Eco tells story of ecological escapism.

    The Gnomes of Gnu

    Umberto Eco

    Amazing abstract children’s book by Umberto Eco tells story of ecological escapism.
  4. Get Dressed! Seymour Chwast An unusual and clever children’s book by beloved graphic designer Seymour Chwast.

    Get Dressed!

    Seymour Chwast

    An unusual and clever children’s book by beloved graphic designer Seymour Chwast.
  5. Ounce Dice Trice Alastair Reid Poet Alistair Reid and beloved artist Ben Shahn’s marvelous exploration of the nooks and crannies of language, real and imagined, through obscure, esoteric, and invented words for familiar things that are as mind-bending as they are tongue-twisting. It’s part Lewis Carroll, part Shel Silverstein, part something entirely its own and entirely refreshing. The title comes from the playful alternative words bored shepherds used when they grew tired of counting their sheep the usual way.

    Ounce Dice Trice

    Alastair Reid

    Poet Alistair Reid and beloved artist Ben Shahn’s marvelous exploration of the nooks and crannies of language, real and imagined, through obscure, esoteric, and invented words for familiar things that are as mind-bending as they are tongue-twisting. It’s part Lewis Carroll, part Shel Silverstein, part something entirely its own and entirely refreshing.

    The title comes from the playful alternative words bored shepherds used when they grew tired of counting their sheep the usual way.
  6. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: With Artwork by Yayoi Kusama (Penguin Classics) Lewis Carroll Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s most celebrated contemporary artist, illustrates the Lewis Carroll classic. Since childhood, Kusama has been afflicted by a rare vision condition that makes her see colorful polka dots on everything she looks at, so her artwork is naturally “hallucinogenic.”

    Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: With Artwork by Yayoi Kusama (Penguin Classics)

    Lewis Carroll

    Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s most celebrated contemporary artist, illustrates the Lewis Carroll classic.

    Since childhood, Kusama has been afflicted by a rare vision condition that makes her see colorful polka dots on everything she looks at, so her artwork is naturally “hallucinogenic.”
  7. The Donald Boxed Set: Donald and the … & Donald Has a Difficulty (Box Set) Peter F. Neumeyer In September of 1968, author and editor Peter F. Neumeyer embarked upon a thirteen-month collaboration with the inimitable mid-century illustrator Edward Gorey. Their remarkable illustrated correspondence tackled topics as diverse ad metaphysics and pancake recipes, but focused primarily on the three books at the heart of their collaboration. The first two are now out as a boxed set for the first time in The Donald Boxed Set: Donald and the … & Donald Has a Difficulty — a lovely duo of smyth-sewn casebound books in a beautiful slip-case, brimming with Gorey’s signature black-and-white illustrations of eccentric characters and strange creatures.

    The Donald Boxed Set: Donald and the … & Donald Has a Difficulty (Box Set)

    Peter F. Neumeyer

    In September of 1968, author and editor Peter F. Neumeyer embarked upon a thirteen-month collaboration with the inimitable mid-century illustrator Edward Gorey. Their remarkable illustrated correspondence tackled topics as diverse ad metaphysics and pancake recipes, but focused primarily on the three books at the heart of their collaboration. The first two are now out as a boxed set for the first time in The Donald Boxed Set: Donald and the … & Donald Has a Difficulty — a lovely duo of smyth-sewn casebound books in a beautiful slip-case, brimming with Gorey’s signature black-and-white illustrations of eccentric characters and strange creatures.
  8. Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser William Irwin Seventeen contemporary thinkers to examine the Lewis Carroll classic through the lens of philosophy, exploring subjects as diverse as drugs, dreams, logic, gender, perception, escapism, and what the Red Queen can teach us about nuclear strategy.

    Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser

    William Irwin

    Seventeen contemporary thinkers to examine the Lewis Carroll classic through the lens of philosophy, exploring subjects as diverse as drugs, dreams, logic, gender, perception, escapism, and what the Red Queen can teach us about nuclear strategy.
  9. Love is Walking Hand In Hand (Peanuts) Charles M. Schulz “Love is letting him win even though you know you could slaughter him.” “Love is sharing your popcorn.” “Love is standing in a doorway just to see her if she comes walking by.” “Love is being happy knowing that she’s happy… but that isn’t so easy.” The Peanuts gang defines love through the simple acts and moments of everyday life, 1965.

    Love is Walking Hand In Hand (Peanuts)

    Charles M. Schulz

    “Love is letting him win even though you know you could slaughter him.”

    “Love is sharing your popcorn.”

    “Love is standing in a doorway just to see her if she comes walking by.”

    “Love is being happy knowing that she’s happy… but that isn’t so easy.”

    The Peanuts gang defines love through the simple acts and moments of everyday life, 1965.
  10. The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss A collection of 65 of Ted Geisel’s whimsical paintings, sculptures, and rough sketches of weird and wonderful beings in otherworldly settings, created for his own pleasure and never exhibited in public. Though Geisel’s most enduring legacy remains his timeless children’s literature, this volume sheds new light on his contribution to contemporary art — a realm he approached with the same blend of idiosyncratic talent and uncompromising dedication that made him a cultural icon in his “other life.” A wise and wonderful introduction by Maurice Sendak is the ultimate cherry on top.

    The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss

    A collection of 65 of Ted Geisel’s whimsical paintings, sculptures, and rough sketches of weird and wonderful beings in otherworldly settings, created for his own pleasure and never exhibited in public.

    Though Geisel’s most enduring legacy remains his timeless children’s literature, this volume sheds new light on his contribution to contemporary art — a realm he approached with the same blend of idiosyncratic talent and uncompromising dedication that made him a cultural icon in his “other life.”

    A wise and wonderful introduction by Maurice Sendak is the ultimate cherry on top.
  11. The Three Astronauts Umberto Eco This vintage semiotic children’s book by iconic novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco tells the inspired and irreverent story of space exploration and world peace as a Martian shows concern for a frightened bird and teaches three astronauts — an American, a Russian, and a Chinese — a lesson in tolerance despite difference.

    The Three Astronauts

    Umberto Eco

    This vintage semiotic children’s book by iconic novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco tells the inspired and irreverent story of space exploration and world peace as a Martian shows concern for a frightened bird and teaches three astronauts — an American, a Russian, and a Chinese — a lesson in tolerance despite difference.
  12. Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family Dr. Seuss In 1939, the iconic children’s book author released an “adult” book about nudes, The Seven Lady Godivas, which was such a flop it quickly went out of print. Today, it endures not only as a delightfully odd piece of rare Seussean ephemera, but also as a reassuring reminder that even genius can falter.

    Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family

    Dr. Seuss

    In 1939, the iconic children’s book author released an “adult” book about nudes, The Seven Lady Godivas, which was such a flop it quickly went out of print. Today, it endures not only as a delightfully odd piece of rare Seussean ephemera, but also as a reassuring reminder that even genius can falter.
  13. Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words Ann Rand & Paul Rand an utterly, perhaps paradoxically, delightful 1957 children’s book illustrated by legendary designer and notorious curmudgeon Paul Rand, and written by his then-wife Ann.

    Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words

    Ann Rand & Paul Rand

    an utterly, perhaps paradoxically, delightful 1957 children’s book illustrated by legendary designer and notorious curmudgeon Paul Rand, and written by his then-wife Ann.
  14. Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling Martin Salisbury From cave paintings to Maurice Sendak to the iPad, the fascinating evolution of the picturebook as a storytelling medium and a cultural agent.

    Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling

    Martin Salisbury

    From cave paintings to Maurice Sendak to the iPad, the fascinating evolution of the picturebook as a storytelling medium and a cultural agent.
  15. Henri’s Walk to Paris Leonore Klein & Saul Bass Saul Bass (1920-1996) is considered by many the greatest graphic designer of all time, responsible for some of the most timeless logos and most memorable film title sequences of the twentieth century. In 1962, Bass collaborated with former librarian Leonore Klein on his only children’s book, which spent decades as a prized out-of-print collector’s item. This month, exactly half a century later, Rizzoli is reprinting Henri’s Walk to Paris — an absolute gem like only Bass can deliver, at once boldly minimalist and incredibly rich, telling the sweet, aspirational, colorful story of a boy who lives in rural France and dreams of going to Paris. Take a peek inside at the link.

    Henri’s Walk to Paris

    Leonore Klein & Saul Bass

    Saul Bass (1920-1996) is considered by many the greatest graphic designer of all time, responsible for some of the most timeless logos and most memorable film title sequences of the twentieth century.

    In 1962, Bass collaborated with former librarian Leonore Klein on his only children’s book, which spent decades as a prized out-of-print collector’s item. This month, exactly half a century later, Rizzoli is reprinting Henri’s Walk to Paris — an absolute gem like only Bass can deliver, at once boldly minimalist and incredibly rich, telling the sweet, aspirational, colorful story of a boy who lives in rural France and dreams of going to Paris.

    Take a peek inside at the link.
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