One of my favourite books when I was little was "Sing a Song of Everything" by Rosemary Garland. It is a cheery children's book full of poems about animals and children. However, as nice as Rosemary's poems were it was the illustrations that had me transfixed. They were, as far as I was concerned, pure bliss and I used to gaze at them regularly drinking in the sweet characters and vivid colours of Mirko Hanak's work. His watercolours in this book are like a cross between Chinese traditional watercolours and vibrant 1960s / 1970s illustrations from Europe.
Mirko was born in 1921 in Prague, The Czech Republic and worked as a painter, graphic designer and illustrator. His specialties were animals and human figures that were full of life and fun. He also had a firm grasp on composition as his paintings were so well balanced despite his casual fluid line. He was working on "Charlotte's Web" the movie when he tragically died at the height of his career from leukemia in 1971.
In the illustrations here you can see his interpretations of Rosemary Garland's simple poems. I highly recommend this book and any children's book illustrated by Hanak for your little ones - there's no nicer way to be introduced to art and colour than through his glorious illustrations . They certainly left an impression on me.
Sam, i have that book too Sing a Song of Everything" by Rosemary Garland...love it still! I love the illustrations too! Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you and yours!
Posted by: Jacqueline | March 14, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Wow! Isn't that amazing! It must have been quite a hit when it was first published! I can see why! Thanks Jacqueline!
Posted by: Sam | March 14, 2009 at 06:23 PM
These are nice--they remind me a little of Mary Blair's style circa 1960s. :)
Posted by: Tina of Pfeiffer Photos | March 16, 2009 at 03:24 AM
LOVE the kitties in this illustration!
Posted by: Fifi Flowers | March 21, 2009 at 08:13 AM
Beautiful beautiful illustrations! Absolutely love the colours as well. Thanks for introducing!
Posted by: Michiko | March 21, 2009 at 06:37 PM
Please!!!! I'm looking for Rosemary Garland's poems for my kids, but in Russia they are not sold. Can anybody scan and send me some poems????
Posted by: Lidia | November 02, 2009 at 12:23 AM