FUN (FREE!) BOOKPLATES TO PERSONALIZE YOUR CHILD'S HOME LIBRARY

Ex libris is Latin for "from the library of..." 

Bookplates, also known as "ex-libris", have been placed in books to declare ownership since the 15th Century. Many artists, some famous such as William Hogarth, Aubrey Beardsley and John Piper, have designed bookplates, and many significant people (e.g. Samuel Pepys and Rudyard Kipling) have used them, but a personal bookplate is available to anyone owning a library and wishing to place in the books a printed design as a mark of possession. -from the BOOKPLATE SOCIETY web page.

Did the word 'FREE' get your attention??  Read more HERE about the interesting history of bookplates on the website, MyHomeLibrary.com, which has a large selection of FREE printable children's bookplates in all different sizes.  Some are black and white, some are color.  They are all done by children's book illustrators. You'll find lots of fun designs like these that you are free to download and print!

Bookplate by ALIKI

Bookplate by Helen Craig, illustrator of ANGELINA BALLERINA books

Valerie Greeley bookplate.  You'll love her website & Etsy page!

CLICK HERE to download this free bookplate from Mo Willems!

JAN BRETT also has some printable bookplates HERE on her website...

HEDGIE bookplate, by Jan Brett

Feeling creative?  FAMILY FUN has a fun photo bookplate project you can do with your kids...

And lastly, for a purchased option, you can always look online or at your local craft store to buy ex libris rubber stamps, which you can stamp directly into the book, or onto a sticker, that can then be adhered to the page. But however you choose to personalize your child's library, know that it will be fun! The possibilities are endless...

This one's from Etsy.

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

Do you ever feel like you need a midweek pick-me-up?  This week I definitely did, and I got it yesterday when my friends came over, with toddlers in tow, for our weekly coffee, tea, and conversation time.  One friend (who I can always count on for good book recommendations!) brought three clever and rather offbeat books to share, that her preschool-age daughter recently picked out at the library. All three are irresistibly funny and great for grades K-3 (unless you happen to have a 4- well, almost 5- year-old! preschooler like her daughter Sophie, who has a very quick and sophisticated sense of humor!)

By the way - what are some of your favorite funny books??

WHAT'S SO SCARY? by John Stadler. Review from Library School Journal: Upset that the illustrator has drawn him into the wrong book, a dog tries to get the story right before its conclusion. The artist, it seems, is a bit of a klutz and some spilled paint causes the cast of characters that he has just drawn to flee in terror. Finally, the pup takes matters into his own paws and draws an appropriate ending, which just happens to fit the story he thought he belonged in all along. The text is infused with funny one-liners, sight gags, and wordplay such as "If a tree falls in a book and no one is reading, does anybody know?" or "I've got a sinking feeling" as a boat is filling with water. A narrative strand involves a tortoise and a hare with amusing brief dialogue. The brightly colored illustrations make use of perspective in an imaginative and amusing way. Younger readers may find it confusing, but visually sophisticated youngsters will appreciate the unusual premise.


WHEN DINOSAURS CAME WITH EVERYTHING by Elise Broach, illustrations by David Small.  While running errands with his mom, a young boy is suffering from boredom - until he sees a sign at the bakery they've stopped at that says, "Buy a Dozen, get a Dinosaur".  He can't believe his eyes.  "They must mean a toy," his mom says.  After they purchase their dozen doughnuts, the store owner hands over a dinosaur...a REAL, LIVE, DINOSAUR.  His mother begins to panic a bit as they come to the realization that all the stores in town are participating in this dinosaur "giveaway of the day"!  (After they've acquired four of these giants, his mom decides to go home immediately).  More fun ensues as she finds ways of solving the "problem" of having the dinos in their home.  Great for independent readers or read aloud listeners.


BEWARE OF THE STORYBOOK WOLVES by Lauren Child. This author/illustrator does a clever job of communicating the real fears and runaway imaginations that can inhabit young minds.  Her witty and silly text, combined with her unique illustrations, will turn those unspoken fears into out-loud laughter.  Just imagine what you would do if a storybook character Wolf and his side-kick (more ridiculous than threatening) climbed out of your book and into your room!  Well, a young boy named Herb outwits the Wolf when he reaches into his fairy tale treasury and shakes out more characters, such as Cinderella and a Fairy Godmother, who lend help and some hilarious antics.

TWO ARTISTS TAKE ON THE SAME CHRISTMAS STORY, AUTHORED BY FRANK McCOURT

ANGELA AND THE BABY JESUS (best for ages 8 and up).
This unique book by Frank McCourt, has been printed in two editions by different publishers and illustrators, in order to offer an adult and child's adaptation of the same text. Inspired by his own mother's childhood experience, McCourt's story is set in Ireland, around 1912.  (The friend who recommended this book to me, reads it to her children in an Irish brogue!)

The tale begins when six-year-old Angela, the youngest child in her Irish-Catholic family, sees the baby Jesus naked, cold and alone in her church's Nativity creche and decides to take him home in order to wrap him in a warm blanket. What ensues on her journey home is quite humorous. Later, her older brother Pat blurts out her secret to the family, while their whole parish wonders with sadness and shock: who stole the Baby Jesus? You'll love how Angela and her brother's sibling rivalry tensions are resolved in a very satisfying and poignant ending.

I found the two artists' styles and interpretations in bringing this story to life fascinating.  You can read their perspectives (reprinted from AMAZON) in their own words below:

Loren Long on the Fireside Scene from Angela and the Baby Jesus (adult version):
Usually little Angela would want to be right in the middle of the action as the family sits by the fire and talks. But not this time--she has a secret upstairs.
At this point in the story, I'm giving the reader a seat behind the family in the shadows away from the fire. At the same time we, the readers, know about Angela's secret in the bedroom upstairs and we see her hanging back from the others, sneaking peeks up the staircase. We can see that she has something more important on her mind than her family's chattering.


In my visual interpretation of Angela and the Baby Jesus, I wanted to tap into Frank McCourt's sophisticated blend of gritty realism and subtle humor. For this reason, I specifically chose a limited color palette. I worked with acrylics on canvas and tried to keep the paintings a bit edgy and raw.


Choosing images came naturally when working on this story. I was taken with the balance of reverence, innocence, and humor in Frank’s text and I simply tried to come up with creative ways to portray these elements in a subtle but hopefully profound way. --Loren Long

Raul Colon on the Fireside Scene from Angela and the Baby Jesus (child version):
This image for Frank McCourt's Angela and the Baby Jesus picture book came to me just by thinking of a warm fireplace on a cold night.


In this particular scene the family sits around the fire to chat after tea. Angela's little brother is giving up the secret that the "Baby Jesus" is in the bed upstairs. Angela shows a bit of worry in her face, since she quietly snuck the "baby" into the house. Surely she'll be in trouble now.


Throughout the story I hardly show any of the adult faces, focusing mainly on the children's world. Hence, Mother's back is turned toward us. I also cut off the little brother's face by having Mother's turn-of-the-century hairdo get in the way (A little thing I learned from the great artist Degas.) It gives the scene intimacy, as if the viewer is there taking a snapshot with his camera. All in all a fun and rewarding book to illustrate. It was an honor to turn McCourt's words into actual pictures. --Raul Colon

Frank McCourt died in 2009. You can listen to this interview with the author about his book...

JESSIE WILCOX SMITH, MAGAZINES AND CHILDREN'S BOOKS

By chance, at the age of 20, Jessie Wilcox Smith found out she had a talent for drawing.  In 1889 she started her career as an illustrator in the advertising department of The Ladies Home Journal. She had been a kindergarten teacher prior to that, and it's apparent from her artwork that she idealized mothers and children, even though she never married or had children of her own.

For many, Jessie Wilcox Smith's artwork inspires a sense of nostalgia.  This is possibly because her illustrations appeared on the covers of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Magazine every month from 1917-1933!  I especially love the covers that feature children reading and being read to...

As far as children's books, she illustrated over 40, including A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES; LITTLE WOMEN; HEIDI; THE JESSE WILCOX SMITH MOTHER GOOSE;'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS; and two of George MacDonald's fantasies: AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND and THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN.  She is probably best known for Charles Kingsley's WATER BABIES.

Click here to see her illustrations of the various fairy tales from this book by Penrhyn W. Coussens.

Click on these Links for more information:
SEE MORE JESSE WILCOX SMITH GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COVERS
SEE JESSIE WILCOX SMITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM OTHER MAGAZINES
ABOUT HER ART STYLE
BIOGRAPHY  

ART IN SILHOUETTE

by Henry Lawrence Oakley

Silhouettes harken back to the art of Ancient Egypt and Greece, as images painted on tomb walls or pottery.  What today are considered to be traditional profile silhouettes, painted or cut from black paper, were first used in 18th Century portraiture, before the invention of the camera - which led to the end of the silhouette's widespread use for portraits.  But if you've ever been to Main Street, Disneyland, you may have noticed a shop where artists quickly hand-cut portraits in profile. I'm not getting paid to promote Disney, but their interesting and informative (1-minute long) video about this studio and silhouette portraits is worth watching. 

from RHYMES ABOUT THE COUNTRY
by Margaret Chute

Like the quick "click" of a camera shot, or children playing freeze tag, a silhouette captures the image of a moment in time we might otherwise have missed or forgotten. This art makes us stop and admire the lines and curves of the seemingly back-lit, darkened subjects of the scene. Because silhouettes communicate the whimsy and fleeting nature of childhood, I think they are wonderfully employed as illustrations for children's literature -- be it poetry, fantasy, or just a simple story. 


Hans Christian Anderson would often accompany his public story-telling with impromptu designs and small scenes, as he cut them out by hand from paper. Though not specifically silhouette portraits, they were called "paper cuts".

THE AMAZING PAPER CUTTINGS OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON  
by Beth Wagner Brust

Many countries, including China and Turkey, have a history of paper-cutting art.  The French used the term silhouette, after a man by the name of Eteinne de Silhouette, whose very affordable hobby was making cut-out portraits in the profile style; but in Germany, this art was called schernschnitte, which means "scissor cut". 


Starting in the late 19th and early 20th century, some illustrators began using this paper cutting technique for books. Silhouette pictures could easily be printed by blocks that were cheaper to produce and lasted longer than detailed black and white hand drawn illustrations.  Arthur Rackham was one of the earliest illustrators who used silhouette scenes in several of his books.

Modern day children's book illustrators who use paper cuts include DAVID WISNIEWSKI, JAN PIENKOWSKI, CLAY RICE, and NIKKI McCLURE.  (Click on each name to read about their art and books).

Nikki McClure, from The Great Chicken Escape

Clay Rice, The Lonely Shadow

David Wisniewski, The Warrior and the Wise Man

Jan Pienkowski,  from The Thousand Nights and One Night

Source links for more information:
Portrait Silhouettes
History of Paper Cutters
Charles Burns Silhouette Parlour