Monday, February 25, 2008

Four and Twenty Blackbirds





Finished Four and Twenty Blackbirds. It is a collection of English and American nursery rhymes compiled by Helen Dean Fish and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It won the Caledecott Honor in 1938. Lawson was both an illustrator and writer of children's books. He was the first person to win both the Caldecott and Newbery Medals. The black and white illustrations are whimsical. The nursery rhymes themselves are for the most part unfamiliar. Like original fairy tales they are a bit shocking at times. In one, a fox bites the head off of a baby owl and sucks out all it's blood. Yikes!

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