The Art of Jackie Morris

Jackie Morris wrote to us a little while back about "We Are All Born Free," and it seems that one of the best treats we could offer, right now, is a peek at her art: click here for the website, here for the delectable "We Three, Ginger Cats Tales" blog. It's also clear that the legend of The Snow Leopard is haunting; one can simply take a look at the illustration, below, to see the shimmering magic that brings Jackie's work to life. Exquisite.

There's a lovely bit here that's a special early-winter treat: take a look at Jackie's incredible work at "The Very Cold Exhibition in Walcot Chapel." Seldom has sumptuous art, elegant architecture, and an amazingly beautiful blond (in a striped stockings and a pink coat!) melded so sweetly together.

As if all these goodies weren't enough, there's even a blog about a work in progress...Starlight, Starbright...which gives us a glimpse into the creation of a marvelous new book...I adore the pencil sketches, the paintings, the updates, the window upon the work. Can't wait to see the finished product. 

Jackie, thank you. It is a joy to share your gorgeous work. 

PROTECTtheHUMAN.COM

Click here to see the charming bit that will run, in Britain, before High School Musical 3; a brilliant bit of publicity, yes, for a book?  And, as noted earlier on art.books.children, the book happens to be about the most important of all causes: freedom. For all. What better thing to teach children?

Those Brits: what genius. Now, why didn't we think of this on our side of the pond? Wouldn't it be nice if books...especially important, beautiful, worthwhile books...were advertised at the movies? A bit of intellectual yumminess with your side o' popcorn and milk duds. 

Brain candy, for your viewing pleasure.

We Are All Born Free.

Cover illustration, above, by the remarkable Peter Sis. 

At the top: a delightful, and not at all dastardly, dragon

by the magnificent Chris Riddle.

Many thanks to the splendid artist Marcia Williams

 for the nifty image of the book.

Wild Things 101: Spook U.

Joanna Goddard's Cup of Jo is 

just the most delightful pick-me-up...

see the eminently huggable 

(and not beastly at all) Wild Thing 

or a mini Ventriloquist's Dummy 

that's just begging for a kiss.

Ms. Goddard is pretty much 

in a class of her own, and it's 

top-flight.

Speaking of top-flight: 

don't miss Hollister Hovey's splendid 

Halloween 

moments...HHH, you are something else. 

What style! 

What class!

The snazziest blog on the web, methinks...

Why, if I were a publisher, 

Ms. Hovey would have

at least three book 

deals in the works.

This woman is beyond brilliant. 

Spend your halloween coffee break 

on her blog, and you will see the light.

 I wish you all a happy, safe, and snicker-ful holiday. 

Then, back to the jicama and celery tomorrow, yes?

Speaking of puppets and beasties...

the Rothenburg Doll Museum is home to this

delightful set, above....themselves a little spooky, somehow...

toodle-oo!

John Green at Kepler's.

Kepler's, in Menlo Park, snuggles right up to one of the most wonderful coffee places on earth: Cafe Borrone. This particularly heavenly combo of java & books = a terrific place to get lots of good vittles and nifty info...when I was there several weeks ago, a lovely woman who works in the YA section told me about the following...so...

What excuse do you have not to come grab a quick cup of joe and listen to the brilliant John Green (An Abundance of Katherines, Looking for Alaska) on Wednesday @ 7? Okay, if you live in Nebraska or something, alright...but if you are anywheres near Borrone and Kepler's, come on over!

Here's his website. 

Here's the info: 

John Green
Paper Towns
Wednesday October 29, 2008 7:00 p.m.

The Kepler's website, with directions and all that...here. (Their specific goodies on Green, here.)

Glorious Scratchpaper and Golden Schmaltz

We have some fun things coming up...a few more of our favorite authors and illustrators, groovy event announcements (boy-oh-boy, NYC is the place to be for cool goings-on, 'tho our sweet bay area holds it's own...see John Green info, to be posted soon).

We might even have a few taste-testing updates, given our new urge to cook up as many Urban Mermaid/Insomniac Kitchen goodies as possible. Emily just makes them all sound so yummy. Did you see the schmaltz post? 

Guess who's incredible bit of scratch paper, above, we found in her sun-filled studio? Stay tuned...we've got extreme yumminess coming from the exceptional illustrator of two fabulous new books...

Emily Lisker's Insomniacs Kitchen

There's a marvelous new blog called 

"The Insomniacs Kitchen" 

and it is beautifully written by the 

immensely talented 

Emily Lisker

 who's wide-ranging work includes 

luscious paintings and a 

charming variety of illustrated books. 

Take a look!

Above: a little still-life from last summer in Weimar

...it amused me that I'd been 

given this bag while shopping at a local store.

Thus, the odd mix of Bauhaus, Goethe, Coca-Cola & Kitty, 

presented for your caffeinated enjoyment

whilst you discover the delightful 

Insomniacs Kitchen.

The Birthday Tree

Ah, there are better photos coming...but, for now, here are a few bits from our "A Birthday Party at the Little House" table, created for last week's "Holidays on a High Note" at the Circus Club in Atherton. It is a wonderful event which provides help for many families. 

We were honored to be asked to design a table, and delighted to assist in fundraising for the Family Service Agency of San Mateo. Also, thanks to Peter Sis...his glorious "We Are All Born Free" folks, seen parachuting from our birthday tree, were a true crowd-pleaser...a great delight. 

For more information on the Sis art, 

see the post below...

We Are All Born Free

"We Are All Born Free" 

is a wonderful new book that has just been published...

My copy arrived today, and I simply can't tell you

how meaningful the text is, 

how glorious the illustrations are...and,

with Peter Sis's art on the cover (click here),

it's an absolute must-have.

More on 

"We Are All Born Free"...

'Every child needs to own this book 

and every parent needs to read it. 

A simplified version of the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

is presented via the brilliant illustrations of 

some of the world’s most wonderful illustrators. 

All royalties from this book are donated to 

Amnesty International.'

Tamara Linke, Proprietor

Tales on Moon Lane, London

'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

was signed 

on 10th December 1948. 

It was compiled after World War Two 

to declare and protect the rights 

of all people from all countries.

 

This beautiful collection, published 60 years on, 

celebrates each declaration with an illustration 

by an internationally-renowned artist or illustrator and 

is the perfect gift for children and adults alike.

Published in association with Amnesty International, 

with a foreword by David Tennant and John Boyne.

Includes art work contributions from Axel Scheffler, 

Peter Sis, Satoshi Kitamura, Alan Lee, Polly Dunbar, Jackie Morris, Debi Gliori, Chris Riddell, Catherine and Laurence Anholt and many more...' 

(Frances Lincoln Limited, Publisher)

Wandering Weekend: Fairy Tales

Okay...etsy.

How wonderful is this?

My grandparent's house in Connecticut was called "Oak Knoll." I've always loved acorns most especially because of that. And here are acorns to wonder at.

Love etsy. Check out the Time Machine.

Good Stuff.

We are cooking up some nifty goodies here at art.books.children, and find it rather time-consuming. Please know that there will be more on books and authors and illustrators and other such magnificence soon.

Until then, we'll probably visit etsy once or twice. It's just so YUMMY.

Click here to take a look at these fairy tale cards...and then wander around a bit.

Above, a bit from our table design @the Circus Club in Atherton...

Lazy Saturday, Deux

Love this.

"It may amuse you, Mother, to try to photograph during your solitude at Freshwater."

 

There's something so quintessential

 about the photography of 

Julia Margaret Cameron.

Impossible to tire of it. Endlessly inspirational.

In New York this summer, was fortunate enough to see 

the real thing in an exhibit...was it at the Metropolitan? 

She has the most amazing history. It seems as though the entire Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite age, including each of the Bloomsbury aesthetes, exists within two degrees of separation from Cameron. 

My favorite thing, at this moment in time? 

She started taking pictures at the age of 48. 

(The title of this post is the quote that accompanied 

her first camera, a gift from her daughter.) 

Lots of folks, including "real" photographers and friends and her "victims" (as Tennyson called them), made light of her efforts. She continued, relentlessly. 

And just look where it got her.

Click here for another "Paul and Virginia." Wondrous.

Another Opona

by

Peter Sis

"Opona," too.

More magnificence from Peter Sis. 

Stay tuned for additional images, and more news.

"Opona," by Peter Sis

Audrey in Paris: A Wedding State of Mind

Since we're going all European 

at art.books.children, 

it made us think of a little table 

we were asked to create. 

Think pink, think Fred, think Paris in the fall. 

Think happy. 

More photos on our design blog: click here.

Horn Book Awards

Oh, Boston would be a good place to be today. 

It's where the Horn Book Awards are being presented.

Nonfiction: 

The Wall 

by 

Peter Sís 

Fiction and Poetry: 

The Absolutely

 True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 

by Sherman Alexie, 

illustrated by Ellen Forney 

Picture Book: 

At Night 

by Jonathan Bean 

Special Citation: 

The Arrival 

by Shaun Tan 

with two honor books in each category...

Nonfiction: 

Nic Bishop Frogs by Nic Bishop 

What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley, 

illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham 

Fiction and Poetry: 

Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell 

Savvy by Ingrid Law 

Picture Book: 

Fred Stays with Me! by Nancy Coffelt,  

illustrated by Tricia Tusa

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee 

above: another shot of 

Brian Belott's 

"Books, books, books, books, books, books and books"

at the MOMA 

2008

Czech Center NY: Check Stories of the 8

CHECK STORIES OF THE  8

 1848, 1918, 1938, 1948, 1968

 

Exhibition at the Czech Center New York

October 2 through November 3, 2008 

"Prague, which became the capitol of the newly created Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, was associated with three crises in modern European history designated by the years 1938, 1948, and 1968. This series of the eight started with 1848, when the wave of revolutions swept European capitals, including Prague. 

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the rise of Czechoslovakia in 1918, this exhibition revisits historical events symbolized by the above emblematic years by means of pictures as well as headlines taken from American newspapers, primarily from The New York Times. In their juxtapositions, the exhibited pictures and statements provide a thought-provoking hindsight as well as a particular vantage point to reflect on modern history and its echoes in the present times. They also document numerous historical ties between Czechoslovakia and the United States, and the continuity of the Czech Republic. 

The Stories of the 8 is a prologue to the upcoming inaugural exhibition Check Places, Memory Traces: The Bohemian National Hall and Other Stories at the newly renovated Bohemian National Hall opening on November 1st."

Exhibition Concept by Jaroslav Anděl

Exhibition Information, above, from the Czech Center of New York