The Snow King

Every once in a while, I see something online that I fall in love with. This book is one such item. I kept searching Ebay and one day, there it was. With my name on it. And the price was right. The stars were aligned.

The book was printed in Ploland in 1968 and I have no idea what the story is other than it involves a King, a princess (?) , a polar bear, birds and a scarecrow. I believe the name is The Tale of the Snow King (or The Ballad of the Snow King), written by Tadeusz Kubiak and illustrated by Zbigniew Rychlicki The illustrations are frosty and perfect for the holiday season.

front cover

Back Cover

Vintage Illustration

I have become fascinated with vintage Polish illustration and recently purchased a few children's books on Ebay. Here are 2 versions of the same story. The name translates (according to google) as "As it was with Flax".  It is also translated as "The Golden Seed". It is a story of long ago about a stubborn King who wished for gold, written by Maria Konopnicka.

The first one, dating from 1970, is illustrated by Bogdan Zieleniec.  I can't find anything about the illustrator in English but I particularly like the horses.

The second one dates from 1962 and was illustrated by Janina Domanska (it is for sale in my Etsy shop here). I love the cover of this version.

Vintage Illustration

I found this vintage 1959 Polish book on Ebay. The title is "Children's Poems" and it has wonderful illustrations. The illustrator is Helena Winogradow-Matuszewska. I can't find anything about her in English.

Vintage Book Find

I went to an estate sale yesterday and came home with this lovely vintage book. Written by Charlotte Zolotow with illustrations by Yoko Mitsuhashi, the book was first published in 1964. Other than the cover, the whole book is printed in pink and black (and shades of both). I liked it so much that I had to scan the whole book to show.

front and back cover

Happy July 4th!

In honor of the Fourth of July, I'm highlighting this book Yankee Doodle. I found it at my library sale room and since it is illustrated by artist Ed Emberley, I snatched it up even though the condition is rather poor. Published in 1965, Emberley's woodcuts illustrate the words to the famous song, Yankee Doodle. It also has a bit of history behind the lyrics such as Macaroni meant fancy trim and not the stuff you eat with cheese. I've scanned most of the book, but not quite everything, for you to enjoy.

A bit about Ed Emberley- he is a Caldecott Medal award winning children's book author and illustrator. In addition to illustrating books, he also has instuctional books on how to draw using simple shapes, lines, thumb prints, etc. His early books are quite collectible and many are hard to find and his instructional books are for children of all ages. You can visit his website here or see more of his illustrations on Pinterest here