The first book I picked up was one that she authored and illustrated – an entirely original story titled Dahlia. Have you ever had a picture book make you cry? Not because it has some obvious sappy message, but because it captures an essential truth about the human condition. This book is for girly girls, tomboys and yes even regular boys. I love what this book has to say about how we treat the things/people we love. And the best part - the illustrations are mind blowing - beautiful, detailed, expressive - just perfect really. The illustrations were so convincingly Victorian/Edwardian looking I had to double check the copyright just to make sure I wasn't crazy.
Next, I picked up Adele and Simon and it blew my ever loving mind! Set in early 1900s Paris, Adele and Simon are siblings walking home from school. Simon is a sweet, but scatterbrained little fellow who is prone to losing things. His beleaguered older sister Adele is powerless and by the time they reach their home Simon has lost almost everything – his hat, his gloves, his coat, etc. The plot in itself isn’t what makes this book so special. It’s the fact that each page depicts a famous Paris landmark in lush detail and if you pay close attention you can find the item that Simon has just lost. And the endpapers are a map from the era with markers to track each item. It is quite possibly the cleverest picture book on the face of the planet! If you love this book as much as I do you'll be thrilled to know there is a sequel that takes place in America!
What makes these two books so special is how McClintock uses artistic detail to create a character. In Dahlia we know that the protagonist Charlotte is a tomboy because she tells us so right off, but the double-page spread featuring her bedroom tells us more about her character than any words could. Or how about this image of Charlotte summing up her new doll:
McClintock also teams up with author Jim Aylesworth on occasion with very nice results.
And a few more McClintock books not to be missed:
Our Abe Lincoln - a history lesson and a cute book!
The Gingerbread Man - just plain ADORABLE!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears - spunkiest/cutest Goldilocks ever!
And they have a new one - The Mitten - which just came out which I'll be getting ASAP!
McClintock has also illustrated a fabulous version of Cinderella.
If you're up for holiday stories When Mindy Saved Hanukkah is a super cute story. (Eric Kimmel who authored this book has some other great Hanukkah titles - including Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. Check it out!)
Another one of my favorites is her version of the Dickens story The Magic Fish-bone. In her version titled Molly and the Magic Wishbone little anthropomorphic cats play the roles. So unbelievably cute.
And finally, her original story The Fantastic Drawings of Danielle is not to be missed. And from what I gather it's loosely autobiographical.
If I can just turn one person on to this fantastic artist my job here is done!
4 comments:
Oh! My daughter has Dahlia in her collection because I found it at a library sale one day- can you believe they discarded such a beautiful book? She loves it. I never thought to look for others w/the same illustrator but now I certainly will- the pictures are fantastic. And the story is lovely.
Jeane - I'm often amazed at some of the treasures I find in used book stores! What really amazes me is when I find books with lovely personalized inscriptions. It always makes me a little sad. Now that I think of it I believe my copy of Dahlia is a used library copy too! In any event I do hope you'll check out some more McClintock titles!
I know Barbra very personally as she is my neighbor. She and her husband are the nicest people. I love her drawings too. They are truly beautiful.
Angeline - thanks for your comment! I'm thrilled to hear that Barbara is just as nice as I would have imagined her to be. We are some of her number one fans! I desperately hope she continues to illustrate more wonderful books!
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