blogis librorum. A blog about books. Rare books.

Something about children's books—whether it be the simple stories and lessons or the vibrant artwork—inspires a love that lasts beyond childhood. Numerous adults collect children's books for themselves while others seek out the best examples to add to their own children's bookshelves. It's a genre that inspires happiness and paves the way for a lifetime love of reading. Each year, the Caldecott Medal recognizes the best newly published children's books, those whose illustrations represent the finest children's literature has to offer. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at 1957's winner, Marc Simont.

There’s been plenty of speculation about what Eloise would be like as a grown up. Sarah Ferrell at the New York Times wrote that, “today, she’d probably be on Ritalin.” Carolyn Parkhurst at the New Yorker put together a short piece in 2014 imaging Eloise as a 46-year-old (still) living at the Plaza Hotel, which includes the line, “Some mornings, I wake up with a rawther awful hangover.” Surely somewhere there is a more optimistic take on the life trajectory of the maximally whimsical and mischievous among us—but the consensus seems a little bit dark.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is one of the most undisputed popular novels in the world, winning the Pulitzer Prize and having the unusual distinction of being outsold only by The Holy Bible. In addition, it was adapted into an equally famous film that still holds records to date. This fact is even more remarkable when considering that it was Mitchell's only finished novel and her only fiction publication in her lifetime. She died after being struck by a car at the age of forty-eight. While some of her early works were posthumously publish, none have reached the epic fame as her famous novel featuring Scarlett O'Hara.

Published in 2009, Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman explores the life of football player Pat Tillman. Born in 1976, Tillman became one of the best known players for the Arizona Cardinals before leaving his multimillion dollar contract to enlist in the Army. His death in the line of duty brought controversy to the Army and U.S. government when they hid and changed details of the incident from Tillman’s family and the public. Krakauer’s work brings together the facts, painting for readers a clear picture of the details and cover-up.

When thinking of illustrator and author Hilary Knight, most first turn to Eloise, his best known work. What few realize is the shear magnitude of Knight’s body of work outside of his work on Eloise. Over the course of his career, Knight illustrated and wrote over 50 books, becoming one of the most recognizable illustrators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 

While hundreds of children's books are published every year in the United States, only a select few are ever granted the highly esteemed Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually for the best example of quality in children's book illustration. While the addition of Caldecott Honor book seals allows more than one exceptional book to be recognized, per year only one book is given the prestigious Caldecott Medal. These books often become classics, beloved for their amazing illustrations and captivating stories, in addition to becoming highly sought after items for collectors interested in children's literature. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at the winner of the 1956 winner, Feodor Rojankovsky.

Hillary Clinton engenders strong emotions from many people. Some love her. Some love to hate her. No matter where you fall, it's difficult to argue that she's not a very accomplished, very smart, woman of a certain age. Rather than descending into political debate, we'd like to offer an overview of Clinton's accomplishments and some of her notable written works, and leave it at that.

If you’re good with dates, dear reader, you no doubt have a number of objections ready based simply on the title of this blog post. The Hound of the Baskervilles, which represents Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance after he was unceremoniously killed off by his author, actually appears in 1901, with a slow trickle of additional Holmes stories and other writings throughout the aughts, teens, and twenties. So, in point of fact, Arthur Conan Doyle is the Arthur Conan Doyle of the 20th century. We could call Michael Crichton the Conan Doyle of the Cold War, but Jurassic Park (1990) was published after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Let’s say instead that Crichton, who was born 12 years after Doyle’s death, could be Arthur Conan Doyle reincarnated.