Clare Beaton (Summer Author Illustrator Binge)
I'm wrapping up my summer author binge posts with a big stack of books illustrated by Clare Beaton. Not familiar with her work? Go check it out here and then come back....
Did you see all that beautiful and detailed hand sewing??? The way she ingeniously puts together buttons and felt and ric-rac and lace to make gorgeous collages?? It's not an exaggeration to say that I want to be Clare Beaton when I grow up. I mean, I want to be her now but something about having lots of little kids around prevents me from doing much sewing... or anything at all, for that matter.
I was first introduced to Beaton when I was a mother to just one baby boy. I would take said little boy to a story hour at a local Pottery Barn Kids, where a less-than-enthusiastic woman would read books and then punch a card that would get you $10 off in the store once the card was filled with punches. I managed to get a few cute things during our stint in the PBK book club, one of which was the book Secret Seahorse
.
I've mentioned it before, but Secret Seahorse is one of our favorite board books of all time. The text (by Stella Blackstone) is a fun rhyme about traveling through the ocean and inquiring after a seahorse that "disappeared from sight." The artwork by Clara Beaton makes this book a fantastic one for babies and kids. Each page is full of undersea scenery - floaty jellyfishes, waving octopuses, glittery fishes, sharks, and shipwrecks, and at the end the reader is surprised to find a whole seahorse family.
Anyway... I just love, love, love Beaton's hand-sewn collage illustrations. They're eclectic and bright, and there's always more to see than the "picture." Kids can search the pages for beads and buttons and sequins and more.
Many of Beaton's books come in board book format. The larger traditional versions are nice because the illustrations are bigger, but I prefer the sturdy board books. We have several of them and they've been well loved by several babies! In my opinion, the board books are great, great gifts for baby showers or baby's first birthday :)
The following list of Clare Beaton books are roughly ordered from my very favorites to my plain old favorites. They're all super fun!
.I've mentioned it before, but Secret Seahorse is one of our favorite board books of all time. The text (by Stella Blackstone) is a fun rhyme about traveling through the ocean and inquiring after a seahorse that "disappeared from sight." The artwork by Clara Beaton makes this book a fantastic one for babies and kids. Each page is full of undersea scenery - floaty jellyfishes, waving octopuses, glittery fishes, sharks, and shipwrecks, and at the end the reader is surprised to find a whole seahorse family.
Anyway... I just love, love, love Beaton's hand-sewn collage illustrations. They're eclectic and bright, and there's always more to see than the "picture." Kids can search the pages for beads and buttons and sequins and more.
Many of Beaton's books come in board book format. The larger traditional versions are nice because the illustrations are bigger, but I prefer the sturdy board books. We have several of them and they've been well loved by several babies! In my opinion, the board books are great, great gifts for baby showers or baby's first birthday :)
The following list of Clare Beaton books are roughly ordered from my very favorites to my plain old favorites. They're all super fun!
Bonus material! Maybe, you'll become such a fan of Beaton's artwork, that you'll decide you must have her alphabet flash cards, as I did. The front of each card is decorated with one of Beaton's hand-sewn animal illustrations, and the backs contain a decorated capital letter and short word list. They're super cute! (Oh, and they're sturdy cardboard!)
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I love your book lists and am always on the look out for finding new books to bring into our own little library! I'll be sure to store these for when the newest little is born. I know grandparents will be itching to get some new things and these would be perfect! Thanks for sharing! Her space is beautiful and just all her crafty talent is just amazing!
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