”The Wind in the Willows”, written by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Could children’s books truly enter our minds and imaginations without great illustrations? I almost cried when I found The Wind in the Willows edition illustrated by Robert Ingpen. I already owned a beautiful copy of the book with the original illustrations by E.H. Shepard, but it’s the one illustrated by Robert Ingpen, published for the centenary in 2008, that I wanted to read to my son and I waited until that edition became available. Because Robert Ingpen could journey “into the wonderlands” of the classic stories and “into the landscapes of their creators’ minds”, writes Elizabeth Hammill in the book Wonderlands: The Illustration Art of Robert Ingpen. “Using that ‘fearless imagination, I can believe these authors can come stay with me, sit with me as I’m designing, planning and illustrating their story…’”
”The Wind in the Willows”, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
There have been much visual reimagining of Margery Williams’ classic The Velveteen Rabbit. There is no greater truth than the deep meaning that resides here, one of the most beloved children’s books of all time.
“What is REAL?,” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby, but these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
”The Velvetten Rabbit”, by Margery Williams, originally illustrated by William Nicholson
Written by Margery Williams, the book was originally illustrated by William Nicholson, and for 101 years, this classic tale of a toy becoming real has been an infinite creative playground for illustrators, sometimes to poor results unfortunately. Apart from the original illustrations by William Nicholson, there are very few that stand out: the version illustrated by Gennady Spirin and a more recent edition by The Enchanted Lion illustrated by Japanese artist Tomako Sakai, which is in fact also a retelling of the story. The images speak for themselves and without having read the retold version, the feeling is that they capture the essence, tenderness and wonder of Margery Williams’ text, building enough space into pictures to support the story and setting and yet carrying their own story and leaving room for the readers and their imagination.
”The Velvetten Rabbit” illustrated by Komako Sakai
Reading is something deeply personal and although there are many good children’s books, some may appeal to us more than others from various reasons. Here are eleven more children’s books (ranging from 3 to 8 years old) that have touched a chord with us and that I couldn’t imagine childhood without.
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes
Peter Pan and Wendy, by J.M. Berrie, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Peter Rabbit, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter
Charlotte’s Web, written by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams
Adventures with Pettson and Findus, written and illustrated by Sven Nordqvist
Moominland, written and illustrated by Tove Jansson
The Lion and the Bird, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc
Pax, written by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Jon Klassen
The Wolves of Currumpaw, written and illustrated by William Grill
Ernest and Célestine, written and illustrated by Gabrielle Vincent
Heidi, written by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith
”Pax”, illustrated by Jon Klassen
“In books like The Lion and the Bird (Le lion et l’oiseau), you can see that I don’t explain everything, I leave a lot of space to the reader so they can interpret the story as they wish. This is something that is very important to me when I tell a story.”
Marianne Dubuc in our interview
“Direct experience gives you more confidence in the story you are telling. Seeing Lobo’s territory in New Mexico, for example, was so useful, it was really different than how I had imagined it, and being there in real life just made me care about the story so much more.”
William Grill in our interview
MORE STORIES
Beyond Ernest et Célestine: In conversation with Fondation Monique Martin
Hayao Miyazaki’s wonderful sense of fantasy
The poetic power of illustration: Interview with William Grill
