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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Glorious reflections on a life and love of art, of children's publishing and books.
Anybody with children will surely know Helen Oxenbury, if not by name then by the body of her work. Who hasn't seen We're Going on a Bear Hunt?
This wonderfully put-together biography traverses not only Oxenbury's life, from becoming an artist and children's illustrator, wife and mother, but also incidentally chronicles publishing giant Walker's early years and rise, partly through Oxenbury's sublime efforts.
Each chapter focuses on one decade at a time, the major works of the artist, and spares no expense in including full pages (and double spreads) of examples from her work. The styles of art, drawing materials and techniques she uses are dwelt on (fascinating for a non-artist such as myself, to whom they all look beautiful but nameless until someone explains them to me).
I never knew that it was Oxenbury who created the Walker Bear logo. I was rather moved by the Walker founder's story and legacy. And I so admired the author's focus on connecting Oxenbury's professional work with her family life and work as a mother. Very empowering to see a woman's nurturing and loving role contributing to such beloved and pioneering family-centred stories and drawings.
The author clearly knows and admires his subject well, other contributors she has worked with all bring their opinions of her work to the book as well. I would have liked some words from husband John Burningham as well though, that felt like a glaring omission.
It's a warm read, so interesting for anyone who enjoys learning more about the creation of picture books, publishing or artists in general. And such a beautiful book to look through, so many of my favourite reads shared with my boys are here, and I loved learning more about their inception and development.
With many thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
Anybody with children will surely know Helen Oxenbury, if not by name then by the body of her work. Who hasn't seen We're Going on a Bear Hunt?
This wonderfully put-together biography traverses not only Oxenbury's life, from becoming an artist and children's illustrator, wife and mother, but also incidentally chronicles publishing giant Walker's early years and rise, partly through Oxenbury's sublime efforts.
Each chapter focuses on one decade at a time, the major works of the artist, and spares no expense in including full pages (and double spreads) of examples from her work. The styles of art, drawing materials and techniques she uses are dwelt on (fascinating for a non-artist such as myself, to whom they all look beautiful but nameless until someone explains them to me).
I never knew that it was Oxenbury who created the Walker Bear logo. I was rather moved by the Walker founder's story and legacy. And I so admired the author's focus on connecting Oxenbury's professional work with her family life and work as a mother. Very empowering to see a woman's nurturing and loving role contributing to such beloved and pioneering family-centred stories and drawings.
The author clearly knows and admires his subject well, other contributors she has worked with all bring their opinions of her work to the book as well. I would have liked some words from husband John Burningham as well though, that felt like a glaring omission.
It's a warm read, so interesting for anyone who enjoys learning more about the creation of picture books, publishing or artists in general. And such a beautiful book to look through, so many of my favourite reads shared with my boys are here, and I loved learning more about their inception and development.
With many thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
4.0
This is a gorgeous coffee table book with engaging biographical information and stunning reproductions of Helen Oxenbury's work. I had a very limited awareness of this illustrator before finding this biography at the library, and now that I have read this, I am interested to check out more of her work.
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