Since today begins Black History Month in the United States and since I’d planned to blog about children’s book illustration postcards today, I was curious about whether I have any children’s books postcards featuring the work of African American illustrators. I went through every postcard in my collection and, as suspected, I do not have any illustrations by African American artists. Then, I “googled” and found nothing.
Considering the high number of popular African American children’s authors and illustrators, I find this odd. [Insert appropriate emoji here].
I’ll keep looking…
For now, let’s enjoy the eight children’s book illustration postcards I received for Children’s Book Illustration Postcards swaps 17-20.
From Pikkis in Finland, I received an illustration from the Finnish fairy tale Goldfish, written by Raul Roine and illustrated by Rudulph Koivu.
Swap 17: From “Goldfish” by Raul Roine. Illustrated by Rudolf Koivu
I’m not familiar with this tale; that might be because, as Pikkis points out, the fairy tale hasn’t been translated in English.
The postcard below came all the way from New Zealand.
BLC Swap 17: The Honour of the House by E.M. Channon
CindyST sent an “old fashion” book cover because she loves retro covers and illustrated books.
Lihior, of Israel, sent another postcard from the fairy tale collection that gave me The Frog King postcard featured in the previous Children’s Book Illustrations blog post
Swap 18: Hansel and Gretel. Illustrated by Aurélie Blanz
I was pleased that I could see the name of the illustrator, Aurélie Blanz, on this card. It was nice to “discover” and explore Blanz’s brilliant work. I found another artist to love.
BLC Swap 18: Illustrator Fiep Westendorp
The postcard above, from Sammoning in the Netherlands, features an illustration by Fiep Westendorp, known for Jip en Janneke, Pluk van de Pettenflat and others. Every year, “kids go door-to-door to sell card sets and [matching] stamps” for Kinderpostzegels–to support educational and children’s charities.
It’s always nice when a bear shows up in my mailbox.
Swap 19: Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer
Lars, the “little polar bear” came from Sissi, also in the Netherlands.
BLC Swap 19: The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The postcard above, from HelenGB in Canada, features the cover of the first Frederick Warne edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, 1902.
Alice in Wonderland postcards are a special treat because I love all the different artistic interpretations of the story [I won’t mention that I have a whole box of Alice postcards that I have trouble sharing].
Inger sent this one from Sarpsborg, which is in the south-east part of Norway.
Swap 20: “The cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked goodnatured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth.” Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by Sir John Tenneil
Her postcard also featured children’s book illustration postage:
And finally, Marinda in the United States sent an illustration from one of the sweetest tales I read to my little one when he was a baby, Guess How Much I Love You.
BLC Swap 20: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, Illustrator Anita Jeram
As always, an eclectic selection, but a feast for the eyes and warm fuzzies for the heart!
If you’ve read any of my other children’s book illustration posts, you know that I love the pair of friends from the Dutch preschool children’s books, Jip and Janneke. The books are written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The two have been writing and illustrating the children’s books together for more than 30 years. They feature the best friends living as preschoolers–lives filled with play, mischief, interpersonal conflicts, and loads of fun. The children and their pets are always in black and white as you see them here.
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