Joseph Giordano

(click on images for larger view)

I end the year with these covers from the Bobbs-Merrill Best of Children's Literature elementary school readers, published in 1960. I can't get over the whimsically absurd wrap-around cover art of Joseph Giordano that graced these texts. You'll notice the name for this blog comes from one of the titles. Giordano was also one of many who did interior illustrations for this series which number six in all. If you want to check out the other two covers and some of Giordano's inside illustrations, click here.

Thanks to all who supported my foray into the blog-o-sphere with their comments and for highlighting Fun All Around on their blogs. With five weeks since it's inception, this blog has had visitors in 30 different countries from all four corners of the world-wide-web. That blows my mind. I hope to continue to make this a fun place to visit for the coming year. One thing I'd like to do for 2006 is expand the content to include contemporary illustrators that I like. Of course, I'll also continue to feature children's book illustrators of the mid-20th century, as well as stuff I've been working on.

Have a happy New Year!

Best wishes,
Eric

the most famous reindeer off all...

A favorite from my childhood collection - Roudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, illustrated by Richard Scarry.

Have a wonderful and joyous Christmas and a happy New Year!

Eric

Mel Crawford - Rootie Kazootie

Three Little Golden Books illustrated by Mel Crawford were based on Rootie Kazootie, a Howdy Doody like kid's TV show from the '50s. Rootie Kazootie Detective 1953, Rootie Kazootie Baseball Star 1954 (not shown); and Rootie Kazootie Joins the Circus 1955 complete the LGB series.

Mel Crawford illustrated over 200 children's books including many Little Golden Books using both cartoony and traditional "realistic" styles, depending on the subject matter. As you can see, I'm a bigger fan of the cartoony stuff which also includes books featuring Yogi Bear and The Flintstones. If you want to see more work by Mel Crawford be sure to visit my flickr page.



from Rootie Kazootie Joins the Circus

from Rootie Kazootie Joins the Circus

from Rootie Kazootie Detective

--click on images for larger view

Designers Who Blog

I'd like to send thanks out to Catherine Morely for featuring Fun All Around on Designers Who Blog. So, what is Designers Who Blog all about?... you guessed it, design blogs! As well as illustration, photography, advertising, and marketing blogs, etc. from all over the world-wide-web. Not only that, you have a chance of catching my mug in Catherine's cool rotator.php banners of DWB's featured bloggers. Pretty swanky, huh. So be sure to go check it out...

Making Me Look Good

Here are a couple of magazine page layouts that my illustrations appeared in. It's always gratifying to see your work in print, but it is especially so when the layouts are as nice as these ones. When type and image come together seemlessly, it becomes something else...

Art directed by Edie Fleshood for Log Home Living.

Art directed by Rob Williams for Nashville Scene.

--click on images for larger view
illustrations © Eric Sturdevant 2005

Elisabeth Brozowska

Two Wonder Books by Elisabeth Brozowska feature a little boy in a fanciful escape from reality. In The Animal's Party from 1962, Peter has a dream that he goes to the zoo after hours to party the night away. Johnny's experience in The Boy Who Wouldn't Eat His Breakfast from 1963, is more harrowing than Peter's. Johnny learns a lesson, when, as a result of not eating his breakfast, he shrinks to the size of an egg. Both books are wonderfully illustrated by the author. If you like these, there are some more samples at the Retro Kid and on my flickr page. Also, click here to see even more great work from Elisabeth Brozowska and others, including Bernice Myers.

-- click on images for larger view.

Bernice Myers

If I were King, Bernice Myers' original illustrations from Les Quatre Musiciens (above) would be hanging on my walls. Alas, I only have samples pulled from the web to offer.

These scans are from voila le facteur! I love the old flower seller. She reminds me of a lady who sold flowers on my corner when I used to live in Richmond.

The First Book of Mexico, 1955. - with husband Lou Myers.

Sailing on a Very Fine Day, 1954 - with husband Lou Myers.

What can I say about the work of Bernice Myers... I love, love, love it! Some of her early work shown here was done in collaboration with her husband Lou Myers who recently died at the age of 90.

After the war, Mr. Myers returned to his job at Columbia, where he met his second wife, Bernice, a children's book illustrator. In 1952, they moved to Paris, where Mr. Myers also illustrated children's books and began drawing captionless cartoons for French magazines and newspapers. - from Lou Myers' obituary by STEVEN HELLER.

The bio clipping on the right is from the dust jacket to The First Book of Mexico. If you like this stuff please visit my flickr page where I have lots more samples of Bernice and Lou Myers work.

-- click on images for larger view.

Illustration Friday: Surprise

My Illustration Friday submission this week is a job I did last month for Atlanta Magazine. It was for a humorous article written by an SUV driver who was lamenting high gas prices.
© Eric Sturdevant 2005

Harry McNaught's Oz

In a trio of Little Golden Books from 1952, the stories of L. Frank Baum's Oz series were vividly brought to life by illustrator Harry McNaught. The Emerald City of Oz, The Road to Oz, and The Tin Woodman of Oz offer McNaught's whimsically modern take on these classic tales. Unfortunately, the only other children's books by McNaught from this period that I've come across are educational science books and the like. Stylistically, nothing like the playful warmth and humor of the Oz Little Golden Books. It's a shame because I think this work is on a par with the best that I've seen from this period in children's book illustration.

True to form, Leif Peng of Today's Inspiration inspired this post with his flickr set from The Emerald City of Oz at The Retro Kid. Seeing his post brought my attention back to these books and caused me to re-discover their quality. There are more scans from the other two books at my flickr page for Harry McNaught.

~ I'd like to send a big thanks out to Amid Amidi at Cartoon Brew, and to my Retro Kid pal Ward Jenkins at The Ward-O-Matic for their support of this blog. Thanks for the mentions guys! ~

The Road to Oz

The Road to Oz

The Emerald City of Oz - courtesy Leif Peng

The Emerald City of Oz - courtesy Leif Peng

The Tin Woodman of Oz

The Road to Oz

-- click on images for larger view

Illustration Friday: Small

Another movie themed IF this week, an old one this time. I did this a couple of years ago when I first started experimenting with the computer. It's the first piece I did that led to my current style. Though it's been a while, I still like it.
© Eric Sturdevant 2003