Illustration in children's books

Many people use our collections for ideas for graphic design, illustrations, and tattoos! Prospective illustrators are also regular browsers. Below is a selection of relevant books.

Illustrating children’s books: creating pictures for publication

By Martin Salisbury

After a brief introduction to the history of illustrated books for children, Salisbury explores different aspects of illustration. Included in each chapter are case studies of illustrators and their work. Chapters include: character development; the picture book; illustration for older children; non-fiction illustration; design and typography; and getting published.  This is an essential guide for those who are thinking about becoming an illustrator.

A similar book, published in 1978, is The illustrator’s notebook, edited by Lee Kingman.

Also to be found among the treasures in the Children’s Literature Research collection are some fascinating illustrator biographies and studies, for example:

By Alan Horne

After a brief introduction to illustration in the 20^th century, the body of the book is devoted to brief biographical notes. The text is interspersed with full colour plates.

By Douglas Martin

Based on illustrations, the author investigates the artwork of illustrators, including: Charles Keeping, Victor Ambrus, Brian Wildsmith, Shirley Huges, Jan Pienkowski, Michael Foreman, John Burningham and Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

By Leonard S. Marcus

Fourteen illustrators feature in the interviews contained in this volume, including: Mitsumma Anno, Erick Carle, Tana Hoban, Jerry Pinkney, and Rosemary Wells.

New Zealand illustrators are not forgotten! A good book to start with is:

By Chris Gaskin; photographs by Denis Page

This book features interviews with: Robyn Kahukiwa; Christine Ross, Gavin Bishop, Trevor Pye, Murray Grimsdale, Bob Kerr, David Elliot, Robyn Belton and Lynley Dodd.

Biographies of individual artists are can also be found, for example:

• Arthur Rackham’s book of pictures
• The art of Maurice Sendak by Selma Lanes
• The work of E. H. Shepard edited by Rawle Knox
• Ezra Jack Keats: artist and picture book maker by Brian Alderson
• Tomie de Paola: his art and his stories by Barbara Elleman
• Words and pictures by Quentin Blake
• A life drawing by Shirley Hughes

For an idea of the history of illustration, try:

• Cobwebs to catch flies: illustrated books for the nursery and schoolroom, 1700-1900 by Joyce Irene Whalley
• Children's literature: an illustrated history, edited by Peter Hunt
• Victorian color picture books, edited by Jonathan Cott; commentary by Maurice Sendak
• Children’s book covers: great book jacket and cover design by Alan Powers

Within the two collections you can find outstanding, and award winning, examples of children’s book illustrations, for example:

• Edmund Dulac's fairy book. Fairy tales of the allied nations
• Stories from the Arabian nights, retold by Laurence Housman; with drawings by Edmund Dulac
• The Marigold painting book by Kate Greenaway.  This is a collection of Greenaway drawings, originally published in: Marigold garden.
• Hey diddle-diddle; and, Baby Bunting by Randolph Caldecott
• A Christmas carol, by Charles Dickens; illustrated by Arthur Rackham
• The tailor of Gloucester [from the original manuscript] by Beatrix Potter

On a New Zealand note, you can also find The house of the people, written by R.L. Bacon; illustrations by R.F. Jahnke. This was the first recipient of Russell Clark Award.

 Back to top