Atomic Bombs, Pigs, and a sleeping Princess

An unlikely trio, I know, but they are the subjects of three picture books I found in a second-hand bookshop in Takapuna recently, which have been added to my collection:

Umberto Eco, The Bomb and the General. Illustrated by Eugenio Carmi,
(London: Secker & Warburg,1989)

A story about a group of harmless, peace-loving atoms who are captured and turned into a bomb by an evil general, and how the atoms rebel by escaping from the bombs, rendering them harmless, thus saving the world from destruction and bringing down the general.
(I love the combination of collage and water-colour for the illustrations and the simplicity of the compositions).

Colin Bell, Why Pigs Have Curly Tales, Illustrated by Gretchen Albrecht.

(Collins: Auckland, 1971)

I couldn't resist this one, mainly because the lino-prints were made by a very young Gretchen Albrecht (long before her foray into painted hemispheres and ovals). I wrote my MA thesis on Gretchen's shaped paintings, and she remains one of the most generous, warm-hearted and dedicated New Zealand artists that I have had the pleasure of writing about.

The Brothers Grimm, The Sleeping Beauty. Illustrated by Felix Hoffmann
(Oxford: Oxford UP, 1959)

I just love Felix Hoffmann's illustrations, especially the way he draws foliage and castles.

And I finally found a place on top of the New Zealand book collection to put some of my pretties (what big ears Baxter had!).