Mickey Mouse - Color Sundays vol. 1 & 2

This box set consists of 2 books: Call of The Wild (vol.1) and Robin Hood Rides Again (vol. 2). This is a nice change (for my eyes) from the previous Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson box sets because, like its name, Color Sundays, this is in colour.

The stories are usual days in Mickey Mouse's life, with his girlfriend Minnie, his dog Pluto, and friends Horace, Clarabelle, Goofy/Dippy, and Donald Duck; with several exceptions when the stories are fairy-tale-like: Rumplewatt The Giant, The Robin Hood Adventure, and The Brave Little Tailor.

In book vol.2, there are stories without Mickey, but involved Floyd Gottfredson as one of the artists: Lambert The Sheepish Lion, The Seven Dwarfs and The Witch Queen, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians. The last 2 titles are similar to the Disney's classic movies with the same titles.

First panels from The Brave Little Tailor

I must say that compared to Carl Barks's works, I prefer Carl Barks'. This Mickey Mouse stories remind me of old silent movies with Harold Lloyd because they have similar themes, even the humor is almost the same, but I think it's because they were from the same era.

Lambert's expression in this panel is priceless! 

Lambert The Sheepish Lion is my personal favourite among the stories in these 2 books. A childless ewe and an orphaned little lion find each other. Unlike H.C. Andersen's The Ugly Duckling, the mother unconditionally loves the lion, who becomes a joke in the flock.

Donald Duck: The Old Castle's Secret by Carl Barks

This album contains three long stories (about 30 pages):1) The Old Castle's Secret - where Uncle Scrooge and his nephews go to Scotland to find the family's hidden treasure; 2) Darkest Africa - Donald and his nephews in search of a very rare butterfly; and 3) Sheriff of Bullet Valley - Donald as a sheriff, helped by his nephews vs cattle rustlers.

There also eleven 10-page-stories: Wintertime Wager, Watching The Watchman, Wired, Going Ape, Spoil The Rod, Rocketrace to The Moon, Donald of the Coast Patrol, Gladstone Returns, Links Hijinks, Pearls of Wisdom, and Foxy Relations.
Plus 6 one-page gags.

Some of these stories I had read before - some recently, some a long time ago; some were new.

I remember when I first read Sheriff of Bullet Valley, I laughed at the scene where Donald's horse's hooves stopped the rolling log. The horse's expression was priceless.

Another favourite story I hadn't read for a long time was Foxy Relation, where Donald goes fox-hunting to help Uncle Scrooge impress his future business partner. Knowing the effort is useless, Donald's nephew plants a tame fox which will come if his name is called. Donald only remembers that the name is the name of a fish, so he calls every fish's name he can remembers. The fox's name is 'red herring', which means 'false clue' in detective stories. In bahasa Indonesia version, the name was translated to 'ikan asin', means 'salted fish'. So although it's some kind of fish name, it's not really a fish's name. It makes sense, then, if Donald cannot remember the right name.

Donald Duck A Christmas For Shacktown

Donald Duck vol.2 A Christmas For Shacktown is here! It contains A Christmas For Shacktown, The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill, Gladstone's Usual Good Year, The Screaming Cowboy, Statuesque Spendthrifts, Rocket Wing Saves The Day, Gladstone's Terrible Secret, The Think Box Bollix, The Golden Helmet, Houseboat Holiday, Gemstone Hunters, The Gilded Man, and Spending Money. Plus 9 one-page gags.

I've read some of these before and my initial intention was to have The Gilded Man in better printing. I still love the story: Donald's pursue of a very rare magenta stamp leads him to meet El Dorado, the mysterious gilded man in British Guiana (Guyana).

However, I was very happy to find two stories which I hadn't read for a long time: 1) Statuesque Spendthrifts, where Uncle Scrooge competes with The Maharajah of Howduyustan to build the most impressive statue(s) in Duckburg. 2) Spending Money, in which Donald helps Uncle Scrooge to spend billions because the money bin is too full for them. Below is a panel from Statuesque Spendthrifts, a very memorable one, I must say.

Who can build the biggest Cornelius Coot statue?

The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics

Lately I like Scrooge McDuck comics by Carl Barks and Don Rosa very much that I think perhaps in the past there were other enjoyable comics like them which I didn't know. I found this book while browsing through. It is a collection of comics in the 40's - 60's. As I read the contents, I recognized a few: Little Archie, Little Lulu, Dennis The Menace, and the one which interested me most: several Donald Duck stories by Carl Barks himself.

After finishing this book, I conclude that Disney Comics by Carl Barks are still on the top of my list. I must add that I enjoy Marge's Little Lulu by John Stanley and Irving Tripp, too. Perhaps I would enjoy this book more if I were much younger.

The Collected Tales Nurse Matilda

After watching Nanny McPhee, I was curious about Nurse Matilda, whom the title character in Nanny McPhee based on. Months ago, I saw the Bloomsbury edition of Nurse Matilda The Collected Tales by Christianna Brand in a bookstore and liked the appearance. Apart from the hardcover and the kind of paper used ("natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests"), I thought the black and white illustrations by Edward Ardizzone, Brand's cousin, were cute. The book was consist of 3 stories: Nurse Matilda, Nurse Matilda Goes To Town, and Nurse Matilda Goes To Hospital.

I wished I read it sooner because I think now I am too old for it. The synopsis is as follows: Mr and Mrs Brown have so many children that in the book only several of them are named. They are all naughty that nurses, nannies and governesses all cannot work there long. Then come Nurse Matilda with her magic stick who will punish the children in magical ways, and in the end they learn how to behave. The naughtiness in the book is repeated again and again, so is the way Nurse Matilda handles them, that it becomes rather boring for me. Evangeline, who in Nanny McPhee is played by lovely actress Kelly MacDonald, is depicted as an annoying fat girl whom the Brown children dislike, and of course she doesn't end up marrying Mr Brown like in the movie.

D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths

I have always wanted to have a book about Greek myths, but didn't know any good one. There were so many in the market. I happened to read reviews about this D'aulaire's, which sounded great, and decided to buy the book. I enjoyed reading this so much and thought that this was one of the best books in my collection, even though it's bought from 2nd hand store and the jacket was missing. Until then, I only learnt about Greek myths from Disney or Hollywood movies - which people said not the best places. This book is for children, so it is a great introduction for me to those stories, which begins with Mother Earth Gaea gave birth to the gods. The stories are accompanied with lovely drawings, which amazed me, since they are made with pencil colours. The picture I include on this page is an example, depicts the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

I think once I read that this book was in the list of the most beautiful books in the world. I wanted this because of the illustrations by Arthur Rackham, and I do like them, although sometimes I think his depiction of bad fairies is scary, like a bad dream from Rip Van Winkle.

This J.M. Barrie lovely book was originally published in 1907, but I never heard anything about Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, which meant his life before he met Wendy - for I only learnt about Peter Pan in the Disney movie.

The book begins with a description about the Kensington Gardens, which I find useful, because I've never been there. Then it tells about baby Peter Pan, how he flies away from his dear mother and lives with the birds. The birds make him a boat which he uses to sail to Kensington Gardens where he befriends the fairies and a brave little girl called Maimie.

Treasury of Aesop's Fables

I have had a book of Aesop's Fables already, but the illustrations are few (and not in colour), and the bad quality of the paper makes me reluctant to read it. The cheap price was the reason why I bought the book.

A few weeks ago, I saw this nice copy in a bookshop. It was sealed, so I couldn't look inside. I loved the cover, though, so I bought this Treasury of Aesop's Fables. When I opened the seal at home, I was a bit disappointed because the illustrations by Val Biro were not as wonderful as I had expected. It was the style of the drawing which I wasn't fond of.

Last week I brought this when I went to visit my 5 1/2 year-old niece. The stories were in English, but every page was illustrated in colour, made it easy for me to tell the stories to her without reading them - only by following the illustrations. Then I was glad I bought the book. There are 16 stories in this.


The picture above are from 'The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs'. There are total 8 illustrations in this story only.

Pilgrim's Progress

When I was little, a movie was played in our church. Usually the movies were about the life of Jesus, but this movie was different. Not much I can remember now except in it there was a man with a burden on his back which he carried anywhere until he met a cross and laid down his sack at its foot. I also remember a scary person, supposed to be the devil, I think, who wore colourful clothes and had long nails. That devil gave me nightmares then. I saw this movie 2 or 3 times for I also went when another nearby church (the priest's daughters were my playmates) showed this. Later when I was in high school, I saw the story available in comic version. I didn't buy it then. Apart from the comic book, it was difficult to find the book in Indonesia, which I found rather unbelievable, for I read somewhere that the story was famous and the book was the most best selling book for Christians after The Bible.

I wanted a version for children which I thought would be easier to read, and with illustrations here and there the book should be more interesting. After comparing several versions, I decided to take this Gary Schmidt version. I am pleased with the presentation and lovely water colour illustration by Barry Moser. In fact, it is better (and bigger) than I expected.

The story itself tells the journey of Christian from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Many problems occur during the dangerous journey for he has to go through the Delectable Mountains, the Valley of The Shadow of Death, the Doubting Castle, Vanity Fair, the Valley of Humiliation... ; and meet those who will try to make him leave his path: Obstinate, Pliable, Giant Despair, Pagan, Atheist, Envy, Hate-Good, Deceiver, Hypocrisy, Apollyon, ... but he is not alone in his pilgrimage, has Faithful and Hopeful at his side, and gets help from Goodwill, Discretion, Prudence, Watchful, Sincere, Knowledge,... . This work of John Bunyan should be read by all Christians, whatever version it is.

Old sketches

While looking for my old journal, I found these old sketches in the chest. This drawing of a little boy climbing up a tree is one of my favourite. That time I was a fan of Yu Ashagiri. I used Aquarell on Concorde paper.









I love the flowers in this drawing below. The young woman's gown and hair are from the early 19th century in the UK. Acrylic paint on Concorde.





This must have been copied from somewhere. A card, I think. Aquarell on Concorde.




I was a fan of Tuxedo Kamen (from Sailor Moon). Thought he was gorgeous. Fictional character is always perfect. With ballpoint and pencil, on the front page of one of the journals.









This picture below can be used for Christmas card. From Joni Mitchell's River. Aquarell on Concorde.

A Garth Williams Treasury

It's a pity that 'A Garth Williams Treasury of Best-Loved Golden Books' is not easy to find. In 1942, Golden Books started to publish children books at a more affordable price. In this volume, there are 10 collection of Golden Books, illustrated by Garth Williams. I love his drawings since I read Laura Ingalls Wilder books in the early 80's. When I bought Charlotte's Web, I chose the one with his illustrations.


The picture above is from The Three Little Pigs, when the big bad wolf blows the straw house of the first pig.

This book is obviously for young children for the letters and drawings are big. My favourite story is 'The Kitten Who Thought He Was A Mouse". As for the drawings, I like the last story the most: "Mister Dog".


Here Mr. Dog looks sad, but actually he is sleepy because he just woke up. He is making himself a breakfast of milk and bread. See the strawberries in his fridge.

I love how he drew Mr. Dog from behind. This dog is even cuter from behind. The dog hair reminds me of a chapter in Laura Ingalls Wilder book where Pa plays mad dog with Laura and Mary.

Beautiful Illustrations

This week 2 more books were added to my collections. 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs' illustrated by Nancy E. Burkert and 'Perrault's Fairy Tales' illustrated by Gustave Dore.



The Snow White book is very thin and in the end the evil step-mother had a terrible end, different from the Disney version. Burkert's illustrations are very beautiful. The picture above is from the scene when Snow White runs into the woods after the hunter agreed to let her go.

I found Gustave Dore did many illustrations for Bible stories. I had 2 books which I thought the illustrations were done by Dore, but I can't make sure as the books had been lost - perhaps during the time when my family moved house. This picture are from The Little Red Riding Hood. The details are amazing.

I have been trying to collect books with beautiful illustrations. It's not easy to find such books in Indonesia. When I was young, it was easier, we had more variety of nice books; but of course I didn't have any money then.

These are some of my favourite illustrations:


Left:
Hilda Boswell - from 'The Snow Child' by Nathaniel Hawthorne





















Right:
Garth Williams - from 'On The Banks of Plum Creek' by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Left:

Warwick Goble - from Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies
The Pandora Box scene





















Right:
Quentin Blake. I like Blake's works in Roald Dahl books, but this picture is taken from a Christmas card a friend sent me 2 years ago.





Left:
Cicely Mary Barker - from 'Fairyopolis'. This book was a gift from a friend.












Right:
Marjolein Bastin. This picture is from an Easter card from a friend I received last April.

I hope this year I can add Arthur Rackham's works to my little collection.