From: Sally Miller <derbymiller>
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 15:29:28 -0400

The first books that come to my mind are the two volumes Julie Cummins originated, Children's Book Illustration and Design because not only are they breath-takingly beautiful but they also contain fascinating information about the artists who have illustrated books children love. Another big, beautiful book is Great Painters by Ventura-- a great introduction to famous artists through the ages.
    For fiction concerned with art, I think first of Linda Sue Park's A Single Shard which I'm sure everyone is familiar with. And how about the picture book Carmine, a Little More Red, by M. Sweet. I love that book. And then there's the strange and beautiful book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of Harris Burdock. And three autobiographical picture books on my shelf, tracked down through used book searches just because I love their work: Blegvad's Self Portrait, Shirley Hughes' A Life Drawing, and Margot Zemach's Self-Portrait. Perhaps if I had grown up in an era when children's artwork didn't have to conform to adult sensibilities I might have the courage to pick up a crayon or a paintbrush today, but my early art teachers left me with such a monumental sense of inferiority in that regard that I've long confined myself to the area of appreciation. And that by itself has brought me much pleasure.
  I can't resist adding one more comment to this already-too-long post. In this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer, nationally known cartoonist Jim Borgman relates that the "worst advice" he ever received was from a nun, his third grade teacher, who told him, "Don't waste your talent on cartooning." I wonder what she would have to say about graphic novels?

Sally Derby (Whoosh Went the Wind, Marshall Cavendish, 2006, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen)
Received on Tue 06 Jun 2006 02:29:28 PM CDT