In the fifties and sixties, illustration was everywhere -- from magazine ads to movie credits – and judging from April’s picture books, the hyper-stylized designs of that era are back in a big way. Here are four new books to read your child between the three-martini lunch and the Ed Sullivan show. – Gwynne Watkins
Moon Man (first printed in 1967) by Tomi Ungerer
Don't be surprised if Toni Ungerer's illustrations seem familiar; among
myriad projects in the fifties, sixties and seventies, the French
artist contributed animations to Sesame Street and created the Dr.
Strangelove poster. He also wrote dozens of children’s books, long out
of print in the US, which are now being re-released by art press
Phaidon. Moon Man’s vivid colors and dark, inky backgrounds are rare in
contemporary children’s books; the absurdist story of the Man in the
Moon’s visit to Earth, where he interacts with pitchfork-wielding
yokels, hotheaded army generals and a mad scientist, takes a backseat
to the strange complexity of the illustrations. (Moon Man,Phaidon, April 2009 - $11.53 at Amazon)
The Fantastic UnderSea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino
Jacques Costeau reached the peak of his fame in the sixties, so it’s
fitting that Dan Yaccarino illustrates his story with a Mad Men-era
aesthetic. In this stripped-down biography, Costeau is monochromatic
line drawing, but the ocean that surrounds him is full of lime-green
starbursts, rippling orange-and-pink jellyfish, and smudgy red waves. (The Fantastic UnderSea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Alfred A Knopf, March 2009 - $11.55 on Amazon)
Sergio Saves the Game by Edel Rodriquez
For the latest in his Sergio series, Cuban-born artist Edel Rodriguez
takes on his home country’s favorite sport: soccer. The fifties look
of the pictures comes from a minimalist color scheme – black-and-white,
with splashes of aquamarine, red and orange – and the fuzzy,
overlapping edges of Rodriguez’s penguin world. (Sergio Saves the Game, Little Brown, April 2009 - $10.87 on Amazon)
A Walk in New York by Salvatore Rubbino
This storybook tour of New York City owes a debt to Miroslav Sasek’s
This Is… books, which have been in print internationally since 1960.
Rubbino’s squiggly tourists could be from almost any era as they gawk
at charcoaled skyscrapers, slanting bridges, and Macy’s windows full of
hastily doodled hats. (Does anyone still wear a hat?) (A Walk in New York, Candlewick, April 2009 - $11.55 on Amazon)
Book of the Week appears in Strollerderby every other Friday or so, although we haven’t been so good about it lately. But we’re getting better, I swear.
