Janet Grahame Johnstone (1928–1979)

I picked this book up because the artwork was familiar to me from one of the classic children's nursery rhyme collections that I had as a child, and as soon as I started reading it was an instant trip down memory lane. The contents was mostly different though, as it is largely comprised of two of the Graham Johnstone's alphabet books and their illustrated version of Robert Brownings the Pied Piper of Hamelin. I wasn't a huge fan of both of the alphabet books, as they largely lack the narrative charm as other versions I adore, but they are a decent showcase of the range of the sister's style of artwork. They mostly focus on young children in relatively stiff poses, but some of their characters are well-imagined and they show much more range when they introduce animals as a major subject in the second alphabet. Where they really show their talent though are tje nursery rhymes and the larger story of the Pied Piper. Here, they are able to set the scene with more developed imagery and show their ability to place characters well in their stories. I definitely have to find more examples of their artwork, because it's charming even in its simplicity and cliched moments.… (mais)

One of my earliest and favourite books of childhood nursery rhymes (which I still have) was illustrated by the Grahame-Johnstone sisters, but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that they actually illustrated a huge amount of other books! This collection of traditional fairytales was a great read, not so much because of the stories (which are expected and don’t show a lot of unique storytelling flair), but because the sisters did an excellent job of illustrating each story. I’ll never get tired of re-imaginings of traditional fairytales, as long as the illustrations give me something new, and the Grahame-Johnstones definitely do here. Throughout their characters are charming, and animals are believably anthropomorphized, and their careful attention to detail and colour scheme are excellently achieved. My favourite illustrations were those from “The Frog Prince” and “the Princess and the Pea”, because they are surprisingly reminiscent of the more adult illustrations of Kay Neilsen in their emotional quality and composition, but retained the Grahame-Johnstone’s trademark whimsical innocence. I’m definitely going to be keeping my eye out for more of their books, since they are definitely illustrators worth collecting, even if they don’t seem to have reached the critical acclaim of the earlier “golden age” illustrators.… (mais)