"Dragon Mountain" Story and Illustrations by Tim Vyner, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Great Britain 1996)

"The Greedy Little Cobbler" By Tony Ross (Arrow Books Ltd, London 1988) - Part 2

It would be tempting to create an updated, modern version of this with the title "The Greedy Little Banker". It would be a sell out!

Here's Tony Ross's biography and further links on his other books: http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/4994/tony-ross

"The Greedy Little Cobbler" by Tony Ross (Arrow Books Ltd, London 1988, First published by Andersen Press in 1979)

This, I think, is my favourite of all my Tony Ross books - a great story about human folly and greed told in exciting drawings and plenty of humour. Younger readers may find it hard to follow the attitudes of the different social classes portrayed in the story but the moral that there is more in life than the pursuit of money and social status is very clear!

"2004 Olympiad", Cartoon by Kipper Williams, The Guardian Guide, 2004

With the 2012 Olympics approaching I thought this very funny cartoon about the 2004 event would be just the thing to remind us for what's to come... Here's Kipper Williams' excellent website for more laughs:  http://kipperwilliams.com/

"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.