"Comic Epitaphs" Illustrated by Henry R. Martin (1957), Part 2

I love the expressiveness in the faces and actions in these characters. Just take a note of those crossed feet in the picture below - maximum comic effect achieved with such few lines! Stylish, cool and funny...

"Comic Epitaphs" Illustrated by Henry R. Martin (The Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York, 1957)

What a great little book this is - I picked it up in a car boot sale last Sunday amazed that nobody had spotted it! Classic 1950's design and illustrations in mint condition - and, it appears to be a first edition even though I'm not an expert in that field. Again, I couldn't find much information on the artist - American I presume - apart from a presentation of the same book on the "Today's Inspiration" blog four years ago: http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/report-from-reubens-henry-r-martin.html

"Essential Knowledge For All", Illustration by Leslie S. Haywood (Odhams Press Limited, London 1947)

This was the only illustration by Leslie S. Haywood in this book. There's something special about it I think - symbolism, mysticism, surrealism or just a very well drawn image. It made me buy the book at once even though I have dozens of similar books on general knowledge from the 30s and 40s... Can't find any information on the artist other than one or two titles of children's books he illustrated.

"Brusela" (The Schools Council Publications Company 1968)

Interesting illustrations in this "Teach yourself Dutch" book from the sixties. No mention of any euros here...

"The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Stories" by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith - Part 2

Forgot to mention Lane Smith's own blog showcasing his amazing work over the past 25 years and links for viewing - and buying - other books illustrated by him:  http://lanesart.blogspot.co.uk/ Another excellent blog by Lane Smith is: http://curiouspages.blogspot.co.uk/ Here, he presents old, classic children's books that have inspired him. Sadly, neither blog seems to have been updated recently but still, they are very exciting visually and with many interesting links.

"The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Tales" By Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith (Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, London 1992)

The second Jon Scieszka book to be featured on this blog - last one being "The Frog Prince Continued" http://picturesfromanoldbook.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/frog-prince-continued-by-jon-scieszka.html . Very anarchic sense of humour - not always in favour with kids in my experience, but very exciting for adults because you just can't guess how the story is going to end as in normal children's books! The illustrations are certainly very entertaining and seductive. This was the first of a long collaboration between the writer and the illustrator - all other titles are listed on their wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Scieszka#Picture_Books