Tag Archives: rosie revere

fine furniture in picture books

10.02.2014

A few weeks ago, Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes tweeted that he wanted to read a blog or blog post about furniture in picture books.

So, with his permission, I took it and ran. Travis was inspired by The Memory of an Elephant: An Unforgettable Journey. So I started there and looked for other bold furnishings, specifically seating, in picture books.

Behold, picture books in which furniture and decor take a front seat (har har):

MEMORY OF AN ELEPHANT: A Charles and Ray Eames DSW chair appears on the first spread of this one-of-a-kind book and the mid-century modern furniture cameos continue.

Eames DSW chair; fiberglass chairs via Modernica.

BKF/Butterfly chair; butterfly chairs via Plux.

ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER: This is a stylish book all around. Just one example is that the far left pink-haired aunt sits in what resembles a Solair Chair in black.

Solair Chair; solair chair via styleNorth.

Rosie’s peacock chair; peacock chair in natural via Anthropologie.

GASTON: That high back armchair! So French! Vibrant, floral, and perfect for reading!

Wingback Chair; Lotus Blossom Wingback Chair via Anthropologie.

(Thanks, Carter, for mentioning Gaston!)

MAUDE THE NOT-SO-NOTICEABLE SHRIMPTON: That hot pink settee! Pretty hot decor throughout this book!

Hot pink settee; hot pink settee via Decor Me Happy.

Club chair/Wingback chair; Fireside armchair via Anthropologie.

Finally, Jon Klassen appears to have an affinity for wooden chairs (in addition to hats!) Here’s one in THE DARK.

And there’s a lovely, ornate one in EXTRA YARN as well.

Mismatched vintage chairs of all kinds via Unearthed Vintage. So rustic and pretty!

As you take a peek at your own picture books, do let me know if there are any stand-out furniture pieces!

rosie revere, engineer + riveting building toys

PICTURE BOOKS +

12.04.2013

Yup. If you liked Iggy Peck, Architect, you’ll love Rosie Revere, Engineer. It’s Andrea Beaty‘s story of shy Rosie, who dreams of being an engineer! Whose inventions for relatives are stupendous. And David Roberts‘s illustrations! The graph paper backgrounds, the impossibly wonderful characters surrounding Rosie, the Palm Springs-esque mid-century houses and lawn that don one page. So signature. So good. And the rhyme! Oh how I love the rhyme in this book.

“When Rosie was young, she had been so shy.

She worked with her hair swooping over one eye

and made fine inventions for uncles and aunts:

a hot dog dispenser and helium pants.”

But that was before one of Rosie’s inventions failed. And she stopped doing all that stuff.

But you know who shows up and inspires Rosie to try again after failing? Her great-great aunt Rose! As in, Rosie the Riveter (though it’s never said). We know by her clothes and red scarf on her head!

Two other things I like best about this book.

1.) The ending. It’ll make you cry, but it’s not the run of the mill success story you’d expect. I love the message that failure leads to success. So true.

2.) The page spread with Rosie and her notebook and a whole slew of sketches of historical flying machines that includes notes about how they were flown in or by women!

Thanks to Abrams for images!

Here are some toys that are more than just toys. They’re building blocks, if you will, for budding engineers and scientists and inventors like Rosie Revere.

GOLDIEBLOX = engineering skill-building game and book series made especially for girls. (Full disclosure: I was a backer of the first kickstarter campaign. And you may have heard about the controversy with Goldieblox’s latest video, but still the toy remains great.) LITTLEBITS = electronic module kits to build cool light/sound/moving stuff. This video will explain it so much better than I ever could! Science fair projects may never be the same!

What is littleBits? from littleBits on Vimeo.

MAKERS TOOLBOX = etsy store with two DIY maker kits, including this Cardboard Proptractor-The Aeronautical Vehicle. (Rosie and her aunt would be very proud After all, she has her own paper airplane in addition to the prototype she makes for her aunt.) And finally, three low-tech building toy options from the ever-excellent MoMA Store. The chairs stacking game. The OgoBILD Pod Building Kit. And, the constructible drinking straw. May we never stop building. (Or failing and trying again.)