Caldecott Monday: Chanticleer and the Fox

[osprey_archer]

This week's Caldecott book is Chanticleer and the Fox, by one of my all-time favorite author/illustrators, Barbara Cooney! (I have actually posted about two of her books before: Miss Rumphius and Hattie and the Wild Waves.)

Both of those books have softly colored, delicately detailed illustrations, so it was a bit starting to see the big blocks of color in Chanticleer and the Fox, although once I got over the initial startlement I think it works well. The book is an adaptation of a story from Chaucer, and the vivid reds and blues are reminiscent of medieval manuscript illustrations, where even the peasants are smartly dressed in bright colors.

And the black and white pages remind me of woodblock prints - a little later than medieval but also old-fashioned and atmospheric - with their sharp cross-hatching and blocks of pure black. Honestly woodblock prints have always looked super creepy to me, but that actually works well for pages where, say, a fox is creeping through the undergrowth on the hunt for Chanticleer the rooster.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

This is another one I remember seeing in childhood and admiring the art for.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

It's very striking art!

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

This one sounds interesting! I like the "creepiness" of woodblock prints myself.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I like it when they're meant to be creepy. Otherwise I'm sitting there looking at the woodblock prints illustrating a history of something or other thinking "I don't think looking at this is meant to make me fear for my soul..."