What is a children’s book without illustrations?  One that doesn’t get read, most likely.  To children, illustrations are an enticement to read the words, not the other way around.  Who can blame them?  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Illustrations, however, can be more than a trick to get kids to read, they can be time capsules, windows into the artistic trends of the times.  I’m sure I’m not the first to argue that children’s illustration can be viewed as legitimate instead of pop art, but some are still suspicious that because their intended audience is so immature,  the art must also be immature.

Here are a couple examples of beautiful children’s book art that I feel could be found on any museum wall.

As examples of artistic style, or of folk traditions, children’s illustrations can be the most revealing, which is why The Memory of the Netherlands includes so many examples of children’s books as examples of their culture. 

If you squint at this last one, you can imagine that the dentists are fist bumping each other over the boy’s healthy teeth.

The University of Alabama also has a large online gallery dedicated to book bindings by artistic style.  If you always wanted to know what Art Nouveau means, check it out!

Special thanks to Fed By Birds  for pointing me in the right directions to find this neat stuff.

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