On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles
Leo Lionni ~ Astor, 1961
Still in print in paperback and different from his signature color and collage work, Leo's pebble book stands in a league of its own. Not only was Leo a true artist and design genius, but here we see that he was also a stellar draftsman creating a book that is part realism, part fantasy. Each page begging us to take another look, not just at a landscape as a whole, but at the individual components, as therein lies the mystery and beauty.
One my beach there are many pebblesMost are ordinary pebbles
but some are strange and wonderful.
Fishpebbles and goosepebbles and peoplepebbles and letterpebbles, you could spent a thousand lifetimes turning over every rock and never repeat a shape or image. Exploring your imagination to animate even the most inanimate objects. The fine pencil lines and shapes that help form numbers and faces are lovely, while the sentiment is a pure and quiet, "look".
Leo was simply the best of the best. 40 children's books and more than 100 years since his birth, and his words and pictures still touch the artistic soul in all of us.
Also by:Fish is Fish
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Tico and the Golden Wings
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse
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2 comments:
People interested in Lionni's black and white illustrations should see my blog post on "Parallel Botany":
http://wetoowerechildren.blogspot.com/2011/01/good-night-wendy-leo-lionni.html
Very nice. Thanks for the reminder. I'll really have to find this one now.
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