A Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books

by Various

Overview

Fans of illustrator Mary Blair will cherish this never-before-published treasury of her Golden Books, which includes material that hasn't been in print in decades. I Can Fly is here in its unabridged glory, as are Baby's House, The Up and Down Book, and The Golden Book of Little Verses. Many of the finest pages from The New Golden Song Book are included, to round out this gorgeous collection. All of the original artwork has been digitally reproduced, and has never looked more breathtaking!

Academy Award-winning animator John Canemaker—author of The Art and Flair of Mary Blair—wrote the foreword for this highly anticipated book honoring one of the most beloved illustrators of our time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375980138
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/07/2012
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	135 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Deceased. MARY BLAIR (1911-1978) is revered in both the children's animation and illustration industries. For nearly four decades, she was involved with many important Disney projects. She created the concept paintings for the animated films Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland, and designed the 1964-65 New York World's Fair exhibit "It's a Small World." Mary Blair illustrated only a few picture books, but they include one of the best-loved classic Little Golden Books: I Can Fly.

Editorial Reviews

From Baby’s House (1950) to The Up and Down Book (1964), this collection unites the picture books Blair illustrated for Golden Books. In the introduction, animator/historian John Canemaker praises Blair’s “playful imagination, adroit technical skill, and... superb gift for storytelling,” all of which are evident in the stories that follow. Whether it’s the exuberant and rosy-cheeked tyke in Baby’s House, the doe-eyed animals in I Can Fly, the unexpected use of a pastel palette in The Golden Book of Little Verses, or the chunky characterizations in The Up and Down Book, Blair’s influence on many of the illustrators at work today is unmistakable by book’s end. Ages 3–6. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Despite the art's distinctly retro look and coloring, the five Golden Books in this gathering--four complete, one excerpted--only rarely come off as period pieces. Lap-sitters and lap-providers alike will enjoy following a delighted-looking preschooler who is credibly ambiguous of gender, though to judge from the visible toys and furniture, probably originally intended to be a girl. She takes them on a tour of Baby's House (1950, written by Gelolo McHugh) before moving on to Ruth Krauss's hymn to empowerment I Can Fly (1950), the concept-driven Up and Down Book (1964), the contemporary nursery rhymes of Miriam Clark Potter in The Golden Book of Little Verses (1953) and the 21 standard folk songs and singing games selected from The New Golden Song Book (1955). All but the last two titles are published here for the first time in a large format. Though Blair's modernist illustrations display stylistic changes over the years, they make the transition in size without losing their bright colors and sharply defined figures. Furthermore, her fondness for floating children, familiar pets or farm animals and isolated details in open-bordered compositions adds timeless, energetic visual rhythms, even to bedtime scenes. For Boomers, a nostalgic trip back to their diaper-clad days, and if not exactly multicultural (despite some song lyrics in German and French), still enjoyable for today's young children. (introduction) (Picture book collection. 3-5, adult)

Kirkus Reviews