As you all know by now I am a huge fan of Eric Carle. I have also always enjoyed Leo Lionni's work. So I was not surprised to find out that Eric Carle was inspired by the work of Lionni and actually credits him with inspiring him to create children's books and for using graphic design to speak to children. The two were friends. Both artists worked for the graphics department of major publications (Carle for New York Times, Lionni for Fortune Magazine)and in the field of advertising.
The similarities in their work are obvious. Both used their love of nature to inspire their stories. Both used collage as a main technique. And both used a lot of white space in their illustrations to draw attention to the important aspects of the piece. The major difference between these authors are the color palate of choice. Carle uses bright, vivid colors that are not necessarily true to nature. Where as, Lionni sticks to the more natural, muted tones that one would most likely see in nature.
Inch By Inch is Lionni's second book. The story is about an inch worm that finds himself in a precarious situation. He is about to be eaten by a robin (every worm's worst nightmare I am sure). He is no ordinary worm however and he is able to convince the bird not to eat him by explaining to the robin that he is useful. "I measure things" he tells the bird and then proceeds to prove his worth by measuring the robin's tail. He is not eaten. Instead he is taken to a place where "other birds need to be measured". In this way Lionni is able to introduce children to the distinguishing characteristics of many different species of birds from the extraordinary beak of the toucan to the flamingos tremendously long legs. At the end of the book the inch worm is able to escape by playing to the vanity of a nightingale. This book reminds me of many of the traditional fables we all read as we were growing up. In fact Lionni has been called Aesop for the 20Th century.
Leo Lionni is an author who deserves our attention. And Inch By Inch is a book that is worth reading.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Inch By Inch By: Leo Lionni
As you all know by now I am a huge fan of Eric Carle. I have also always enjoyed Leo Lionni's work. So I was not surprised to find out that Eric Carle was inspired by the work of Lionni and actually credits him with inspiring him to create children's books and for using graphic design to speak to children. The two were friends. Both artists worked for the graphics department of major publications (Carle for New York Times, Lionni for Fortune Magazine)and in the field of advertising.
The similarities in their work are obvious. Both used their love of nature to inspire their stories. Both used collage as a main technique. And both used a lot of white space in their illustrations to draw attention to the important aspects of the piece. The major difference between these authors are the color palate of choice. Carle uses bright, vivid colors that are not necessarily true to nature. Where as, Lionni sticks to the more natural, muted tones that one would most likely see in nature.
Inch By Inch is Lionni's second book. The story is about an inch worm that finds himself in a precarious situation. He is about to be eaten by a robin (every worm's worst nightmare I am sure). He is no ordinary worm however and he is able to convince the bird not to eat him by explaining to the robin that he is useful. "I measure things" he tells the bird and then proceeds to prove his worth by measuring the robin's tail. He is not eaten. Instead he is taken to a place where "other birds need to be measured". In this way Lionni is able to introduce children to the distinguishing characteristics of many different species of birds from the extraordinary beak of the toucan to the flamingos tremendously long legs. At the end of the book the inch worm is able to escape by playing to the vanity of a nightingale. This book reminds me of many of the traditional fables we all read as we were growing up. In fact Lionni has been called Aesop for the 20Th century.
Leo Lionni is an author who deserves our attention. And Inch By Inch is a book that is worth reading.
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1 comment:
Thanks for writing this.
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