Illustrators often take on classic children’s fare and add their own flare to it, making for lovely new editions perfect for gifts or for introducing children to old materials in a new format. here are a few new treatments from this fall.
The Swing
by Robert Louis Stevenson
ill. Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
ISBN: 978 1 897 47648 2
This is one of my favourites from Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses (and one that doesn’t make the modern sensibility cringe like some), about a child swinging high enough to see far out over the countryside, and then coming back down. It captures the magic of a swing nicely, in language that speaks to a child.
The illustrations are simple, but lovely, and feature a bevy of sweet, smiling children of differing appearances and in various settings. It’s inclusive, and carries a hint of a retro sensibility that is less about hipsterism and more about the innocence of childish play. This is a lovely introduction to a classic childhood poem, and I’m quite taken by it.
Pinocchio
by Carlos Collodi
ill. Fulvio Testa (intro by Umberto Eco)
New York Review of Books
ISBN: 978 1 59017 588 0
Pinocchio is all about morality and teaching children how they ought to be – but it is also a wonderful adventure story, and beloved by generations. This simply told new translation by Geoffrey Brock makes for accessible reading, even with younger children, and matches up nicely with Testa’s unfussy illustration style. This edition is loaded with colour plates and features nice large, clean text, making for good shared reading or a nice copy for gifting. One warning for those about to read it – be prepared to be seriously irritated by the puppet. I had forgotten what a little rotter he was!
The Hunting of the Snarkby Lewis Carroll
ill. Oleg Lipchenko
Tundra Books
ISBN: 978 1 77049 407 7
I am, I freely admit, a fairly big Carroll nerd, so I am always excited for new editions of his works, and I quite liked Lipchenko’s Alice a few years ago, quietly understated as it is.
Snark is not a story like Carroll’s more famous Alice books, it is an adventure told entirely in verse, and nonsense verse at that, so that literal meaning is not the point, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable ride all the same, with a collection of odd characters, and a quest of sorts to follow them through.
Lipchenko’s illustrations are not vibrant or painterly, opting instead for a sienna-toned drawings style that focuses on lovingly rendered detail. It’s a style for a reader with an artistic sensibility or a love of detail, but somehow it works for the off-kilter, dreamy world of Carroll. This is a lovely edition of a lesser-known classic, and a great gift for a fan of his work.