Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children's Book Illustration

by Michael Patrick Hearn, H. Nichols B. Clark

The finest work of every prominent children's book illustrator of the 20th century, including Beatrix Potter, Dr. Suess, Edward Gorey, and many others, is explored in this invaluable book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Childrens, Picture Books, History

242 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Michael Patrick Hearn is an American literary scholar as well as a man of letters specializing in children's literature and its illustration. His works include The Annotated Wizard of Oz (1973/2000), The Annotated Christmas Carol (1977/2003), and The Annotated Huckleberry Finn (2001). He considers the three most quintessential American novels to be Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
He is an expert on L. Frank Baum and is currently writing a biography about him, which sets forth to correct the numerous errors in previous biographies, many based on Frank Joslyn Baum's out of print and largely mythological To Please a Child.
As an Oz and L. Frank Baum scholar, he also edited The Critical Heritage Edition of the Wizard of Oz for Schocken Books (1986), wrote the introduction to the first published version of the screenplay of The Wizard of Oz (1939 film). He appears in the documentaries Oz: the American Fairyland and Matilda Joslyn Gage (1983), credited as an "Authority on L. Frank Baum". He gave the keynote address at the Centennial convention of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz mounted by The International Wizard of Oz Club, and often makes public appearances in which he lectures on Baum.
Hearn was a student at Hamilton College in 1968-69 and then transferred to Bard College, where he graduated in 1972. At Hamilton, he was encouraged to become an author by one of his professors, Alex Haley. His first book, The Annotated Wizard of Oz, was completed when he was a student at Bard.

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my reading about children's book illustration, Myth, Magic, & Mystery fills in the gap of the latter half of the 20th century. Published in 1996, this book can nearly tackle the whole decade, though most of the latest sources considered are from the 1980s. Tasha Tudor, John Steptoe, Eric Carle, and others have been absent from my readings on the "Golden Age," but this book goes beyond that time period.

Five major sections make up the book, considering topics like ABC books and (of course) fantasies and fairy tales. The choice of illustrators is incredibly vast, making this book a rich resource on midcentury children's literature. Any one of these artists could be researched in their own right.

As always with some edited volumes, the chapters can be a little uneven, with occasional odd forays into politics and other external factors on children's literature. (Why mention Nixon? Just why?) Overall, this is a book worth exploring for anyone interested in mid-to-late twentieth century children's literature illustration.

[Cheryl]

Not enough pictures, far too much text, and though large and heavy my eyes could not make out much at all. Otherwise, amazing! Interested teachers and parents with good vision should at least take a look.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting introduction to the genre

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first great overview of picture books - a wonderful catalog!