5 Wonderful Ways to Collect Children's Books

Most children's book collections begin with a few beloved volumes from the collector's own childhood. Searching children's literature for similar books is usually an act of love but can take time and effort. It helps to have a plan to guide the seach. Here are five methods collectors use to build from early favorites to a focused collection

COLLECTING CHILDREN'S BOOKS BY ILLUSTRATOR

This is a popular way to collect In children's literature, illustrations are often preferred to text.

Buying every beautifully illustrated children's book in sight is not difficult and will yield a house full of pretty books in no time but the books will not be connected. Most collectors narrow it down at least to the point of choosing a few favorite illustrators and looking for the work of those artists. Many choose only illustrators from a particular era or genre.

A lifetime can be spent collecting Golden Age illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Jessie Wilcox Smith, N C Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Edmund DuLac, Kay Nielsen and Walter Crane.

Art Deco illustrators such as Fern Peat Bisel and Mabel Lucie Atwell are also popular.

There are authors who illustrate their own stories: Antoine de Saint Exupery, Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak (sometimes).

There are famous author/illustrator partnerships: A.A. Milne & Ernest Shepherd, Lewis Carroll & John Tenniel, Kay Thompson & Hilary Knight, E.B. White & Garth Williams.

There are even renowned animal illustrators: C.W Anderson, Marguerite Henry, Paul Brown and Cecil Alden.

There are way too many illustrators to come up with even a good partial list here but delving collectors will discover their own links from one favorite artist to another.

COLLECTING VARIATIONS OF THE SAME CHILDREN'S BOOK

This is a unique way of collecting that works especially well for those obsessed with one particular classic. The idea is to collect every possible edition of the desired book in every known translation with pictures by as many different illustrators as can be found.