Favourite Illustrators

Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 06:47:31 -0700
From: John Nez
Subject: illustration: Favorite Children's Illustrators / Bks.

Since almost everyone on this list does children's illustration.... how about sharing our favorite children's book illustrators and the books that go with them?

Though I like dozens of artists, there are some that I'd have to say are really favorites.

Janet Ahlberg: Jolly Postman / Each Peach Pear Plum

Garth Williams: Scuppers the Sea Dog

Lizzy Rockwell: Halloween Day

I think that when an artist can create a unique way of seeing the world... and share it in their work, it's a favorite of mine. Who are some of your favorites?

John
John Nez / Illustration

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My favorite is Janet Stevens along with Jerry Pinkney and I used to love Ted Lewin until a recent Watercolor magazine article said he painted his illos from slide projections which disappointed me. I still love his w/c style, though.

Janet Steven's "Tops and Bottoms" is just a cool wonderfully illustrated book.

Luanne

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Gennady Spirin: All of his books. Magnificent. Russian-trained, now American. Would give anything to have an article on the process.

Diana

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What a lovely thread!! Here's my absolute favorite children's book ever... One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham. Illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson...it took him 4 years to do this.

Also, Stellaluna and Verdi by Jannell Cannon. Leave it to her beautiful work to make these creepy creatures wonderful!

My kid's favorite? For 7 years now it has been THE most requested book. "I Love You, Good Night" by Jon Buller and Susan Schade. The verse sticks with you...we remember them almost page by page.

I have to throw in my very least favorite (sorry) I just loathe these illustrations...Spider's Baby-Sitting Job, by Robert Kraus.Yuk! Crazy that my kids like it, can't figure it out.

Lisa P.

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Dav Pilkey........DOG BREATH

David Catrow.....THE LONG,LONG LETTER

Mark Buehner....IT'S A SPOON, NOT A SHOVEL

Laura Cornell.....WHEN I WAS LITTLE

Smiles,
Priscilla

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Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 12:20:46 EDT
From: Kjatt@aol.com
Subject: Re: illustration: Favorite Children's Illustrators / Bks.

Here are some of my favorite PB illustrators. Please note that this can change on a weekly, daily, hourly basis . . . .

James Marshall
Henrik Drescher
Arnold Lobel
Brian Karas
Crocket Johnson
Keith Baker
Victoria Chess
William Joyce
and, just because . . . Edward Gorey

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Three of my favorite illustrators are Nichole Bayley, The Ahlbergs and Fred Marcellino, the man that illustrated the wonderful Puss In Boots book with that wonderful expressive marmalade cat face on the cover!

I've been collecting children's books for years and attracted to colorful, imaginative and detailed illustrations rather than realistic painted ones.

Overall, I buy whatever illustrations in a book that strikes my fancy and have many wonderful favorites I look at again and again and even read the stories! Children's books make me happy.

Lula

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Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 16:08:07 -0400
From: Stephanie Stussman
Subject: illustration: greetings!

My favorite illustrators "du jour" are Paul Zelinsky, Jan Brett, Maurice Sendak (before the bell atlantic commercials), Steven Kellogg and William Joyce(I know I'm forgetting about 40 or 50).

Stephanie

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NC Wyeth
Arthur Rackham
Tim and Greg Hildebrandt
Charles Santore
Virgil Finley
Franklin Booth
Jessie Wilcox Smith

Theresa Brandon

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Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 23:56:50 -0400
From: Blair Bostick
Subject: illustration: Favorite Books; Raccoons; New web page

Favorite illustrators/authors:

Lisbeth Zwerger - One of my all time favorite children book illustrators, but her work doesn't seem to be particularly FOR children. Cerebral yet not silly, but the illustrator side of me still sighs when looking at her work.

Carl Larssen - Not really a children's book illustrator, but he documented his house full of children in Sweden over the years in a wonderfully touching way.

William Joyce - Humor

David Weisner - Technically superb

Mark Beuhner (?) - "Baloon Farm" illustrator and others. Good characterizations and my kids love searching for the hidden animals.

Many others; Howard Pyle, Virginia Lee Burton, a few of Bill Peet's books, Robert McCloskey...and so on.

Oh yeah and, God help me, the Where's Waldo books. My kids love these things. I thought they were simplistic, one shot gimmics until I started looking at them (and for Waldo et al) As the series progresses, based on copyright dates, the complexity and challenge really goes up dramatically and they're actually a lot of fun. How the author comes up with SO many things going on in every picture (in the later books, the first one was a simplistic gimmick) is beyond me.

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Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 22:41:07 -0600
From: Pam Peltier
Subject: Re: illustration: Favorite Children's Illustrators/Bks.

Boy, I have to admit that this is a toughie as I like so many of them that I can't seem to pinpoint which is my favorite of them all!

For many years I am partial to Jessie Wilcox Smith!

I also like Mary Cicely Barker
Jill Barklem
Diane Goode
N.C. Wyeth
Leonid Gore
Lisbeth Zwerger
Nicola Bayley
William Joyce
Beatrix Potter
Gennady Spirin
Anton Pieck
Mercer Mayer (Beauty and the Beast)
Jeannette Winter - beautiful graphic work
Chris Van Allsburg-beautiful pencil work
Steve Johnson-the Salamander Room

As for my favorite books as a child, I loved reading all of the "Pipi Longstocking," Laura Ingalls' and Beverly Cleary's books.

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For the old timers, my favorites are Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane and Edmund Dulac. Also Ivan Bilibin.

Denise O.

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I greatly admire Trina Schart Hyman and Charles Mikolaycak. These people know (or knew) how to draw.

I've been collecting children's books for years. At first I told my husband that they were for the children, but now I tell him it's for research purposes. He doesn't say anything but I know I'm not fooling him.

Denise O.

-- I just saw several NC's here in Louisville at the Speed Museum. There was a great show on the Wyeths (NC, Andrew, Jamie, and two of Andy's sisters) that was incredible. I was amazed at the difference in the paintings NC did for illustration, and the ones he did for art. (Forgive the arbitrary distinction...it's ALL art.) The Illustrations were rich impastos with vibrant color, and the "paintings" were much more subtle and thoughtful. Nice work, nice variety.

I think Franklin Booth is the most underrated illustrator of the first part of this century. The man had the most incredible sense of composition I have ever seen.

- -Mark

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Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 03:29:13 -0400
From: Linda & Karl
Subject: Re: illustration: Favorite Children's Illustrators / Bks.

The illustrators whose books I stare at and cry wondering how in the world they do it:
Diana, I am with you for Gennady Spririn
Lisbeth Zwerger
Peter Sis
Steve Johnson/Lou Fancher
S. Saelig Gallagher
and so many many many more......

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