Lots of competition but I think my favorite of the classic-era children's book illustrators is Edward Ardizzone, aka Diz. Something about his shading technique, the way he uses the pencil / pen to create a stipple-like effect, is magical.
Yes, these diminutive, round-faced figures, super-heavy shading, almost sinister piles of undergrowth... they definitely have a certain something.
I'm funny, 'Stig of the Dump' was a ubiquitous children's book when I was growing up, but I only ever saw copies of it with a *very* different aesthetic from the one pictured here -- late '70s/early '80s style, probably with stills from the TV adaptation, or some kind of grim, social realist junkyard setting... I'm sure reading it with Ardizzone's illustrations could put a whole different spin on things...
I hate it when they do that - when a new edition of a classic kids book comes out, because of a TV adaption, and they have a photo of the cast on the front.
I don't think I could watch a TV version of Stig of the Dump, it would seem wrong. That's not always the case though - the TV version of Worzel Gummidge was pretty great I seem to remember. Was there one for Just William?
Majorie Ann Watts illustrations for Marianne Dreams are of a similar style, which I really like. Def agree with you all, why change the cover for TV/Film adaption?
Yes, these diminutive, round-faced figures, super-heavy shading, almost sinister piles of undergrowth... they definitely have a certain something.
ReplyDeleteI'm funny, 'Stig of the Dump' was a ubiquitous children's book when I was growing up, but I only ever saw copies of it with a *very* different aesthetic from the one pictured here -- late '70s/early '80s style, probably with stills from the TV adaptation, or some kind of grim, social realist junkyard setting... I'm sure reading it with Ardizzone's illustrations could put a whole different spin on things...
I hate it when they do that - when a new edition of a classic kids book comes out, because of a TV adaption, and they have a photo of the cast on the front.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could watch a TV version of Stig of the Dump, it would seem wrong. That's not always the case though - the TV version of Worzel Gummidge was pretty great I seem to remember. Was there one for Just William?
Heh! You can't buy one with the TV/Film cover in case the person at the till thinks you only know it through the TV/Film.
DeleteThere was a Just William, yes - your brain has probably deleted the memory of Bonnie Langford scweeming and scweeming until she is sick.
Oh crikey yes, she played Violet Elizabeth Bott. Can't recall anything else about the adaptation, though.
DeleteMajorie Ann Watts illustrations for Marianne Dreams are of a similar style, which I really like. Def agree with you all, why change the cover for TV/Film adaption?
ReplyDelete