Weird and Wonderful

Poltarnees, the pen name of Harold Darling (a collector of 19- and early-20-century children's books), brings together nearly 200 full-page illustrations, which, he states in his short introduction, "challenge the imagination delightfully." The offerings, accompanied by brief annotations and bibliographic citations, from artists such as Peter Newell, Dorothy Kunhardt, Charles Robinson, Milo Winter, and Heath Robinson, will provide browsers with amusement and wonder and may send some in search of the long-ago books. In one, Charles Folkard pictures a dainty teacup in which a young girl in the bowl of a spoon is riding out swirling waters and thunderous skies. Another, by John Held Jr., finds three children and a dog merrily floating across the sky on the back on a whale while their puzzled parents watch from below. While teachers of children's literature might mine this collection to introduce their students to the illustrations of yesteryear, the book will be mainly of interest to collectors and librarians in Special Collections.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA