Posts Tagged ‘style’
Early Influences
April 6th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Guess Who Lives Here, copyright 1949 by Random House, Inc.
I grew up on Little Golden Books. The older ones – like How Big and The Little Book and Bow Wow Meow. Like most kids, I was taken in as much – if not more – by the illustrations as the words that accompany them. But it wasn’t until I re-discovered them, as a mother, that I realized just how deeply some of these books may have entered my psyche.
Where Did the Baby Go? copyright 1974 by Western Publishing Company Inc.
Where Did the Baby Go? copyright 1974 by Western Publishing Company Inc.
Not long ago my son, Oliver, received a Little Golden Book Collection of nine classic stories illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. Eloise was a frequent illustrator for the 68-year-old publishing company, and her style was both whimsical and rich with detail.
Baby Listens, copyright 1960 by Random House, Inc.
According to a write-up by her daughter Deborah Wilkin Springett, included as an introduction to the book, Eloise drew much of her inspiration from her own home, and regularly featured her children and grandchildren when they were still small.
Where Did the Baby Go? copyright 1974 by Western Publishing Company Inc.
Looking, now, at some of her artwork, I continue to be taken in by the pictures – but for different reasons. The detail of the wallpaper, a china pattern, a household of antique furniture and accessories, or a street full of heritage homes now captivate me.
We Help Mommy, copyright 1959 by Random House, Inc.
We Help Mommy, copyright 1959 by Random House, Inc.
Did an early study of such style unknowingly seep into my subconscious and influence the style of home I now try to emulate? Or the way I love to dress my babies?
Guess Who Lives Here, copyright 1949 by Random House
Or the dishes I use to feed my pets?
My Little Golden Book About God, copyright 1956, 1975 by Random House, Inc.
I am smitten with this patio – small, like mine, but with more brick. And I, too, keep my garden in pots.
From A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, copyright 1957, by Random House, Inc.
I would be quite happy in this house.
From A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, copyright 1957, by Random House, Inc.
Of course, there are myriad influences all around us. But knowing that the first glimpses into these worlds could possibly have some baring on later taste just gives me one more reason to choose such books for my own kidlets. That, and they’re just endearing reads.
