Monday, September 19, 2011

Children's Books by Famous Illustrators: Al Parker

Children's books... some did many, some did a few and some did just one. That seems to be the case with Al Parker. As far as I know, the 1963 Crowell-Collier Press book "Jane's Blanket" was Parker's one foray into illustrating children's books.

 Parker213

Many thanks to Harold Henriksen and Bill Reinhold, both of whom sent me a ton of scans from this now quite rare, quite expensive book. The cover was found on ebay, where a single copy of the book is currently available.  The "Buy It Now" asking price is nearly $400 (!)


Parker212

Parker211

Parker210

Parker209

Parker208

Parker207

Parker206

Parker205

Parker204

Parker203

Parker202

Parker201

Parker200

Parker199

Parker198

Parker197

 * There is a nice large scan of one of the originals  (not seen here) from Jane's Blanket - and a photo of the young girl who posed as Jane! - at the Modern Graphic Graphic History Library

 * My Al Parker Flickr set

6 comments:

  1. Wow, didn't know this existed! Let's get it back in print!

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  2. Brilliant and pretty realistic.

    Probably fairies, giants, dragons or dwarfs were not his favorite subjects;-)

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  3. Anonymous8:17 AM

    I love the way this is drawn! All the right details resulting in the perfect blend of simple, but detailed.

    My favorite is the second (?) picture with the little baby in the blanket. It just /looks/ soft.

    Great find!

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  4. The storyline is quite wonderful and realistic. Reminds me of my niece who can't sleep without her blanket. :) Very artistic!

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  5. Your blog is the best! Thanks

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  6. It's been awhile since I was here but I'm really glad to back. I have been working hard getting my first children's book finished. "Skat the Christmas Cat" is now available in e-book format on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Kids or even adults will surely love this! I have created a contest to promote my book, by giving away a free Kindle Fire!

    I'll be really glad if you will check http://www.SkatTheCat.com for more details about the contest.

    Participate and have fun!
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete