DON MADDEN attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art on a full scholarship. Following graduation, he became a member of the faculty as an instructor in experimental drawing and design. The recipient of gold and silver medals at the Philadelphia Art Director's Club exhibitions, Madden's work was selected for reproduction in the New York Art Director's Annual, in the international advertising art publication, Graphis, and in the Society of Illustrators Annual.
In addition to being the author of "The Wartville Wizard" and "Lemonade Serenade: Or the Thing in the Garden," Madden is a well-known children’s
book illustrator who has worked on a variety of projects, including "Incognito Mosquito," and many books in the HarperCollins Let’s Read and
Find Out series. He lives in Ballston Spa, New York.
LILLIAN HOBAN (1925-1998) was an American illustrator and children's writer best known for the many picture books created with her husband Russell Hoban in the 1960s and early 1970s. The centerpiece during this period of time was
the Frances series written by Russell. In all,the Hobans collaborated on at least twenty-seven children’s
books between 1964 and 1972. Standouts in of this
collaboration include the Brute Family books: The Little Brute Family (1966) and The Stone Doll of Sister Brute
(1968).
The couple's final collaboration was the 1971 holiday classic Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, based on the short story The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry. The book told the story of Emmet Otter and his widowed mother who enter a talent contest to earn money to buy each other Christmas gifts. The
book won the Christopher Award in 1972. In 1977 the Jim Henson Company produced the much beloved television film adaptation, as well as a musical stage adaption in 2008.
Hoban went on to find great success as an author and illustrator of the ''I Can Read Books'' series about the chimpanzee Arthur and his little sister, Violet. During her long career Hoban illustrated or wrote more than 100 children's books.
Learn more about the illustrator.
'Tis the season for Christmas crafts! And nothing is better than retro Christmas crafts! These folded magazine novelties were a very big deal when I was a child. Most households had an angel or a Mr. & Mrs. Claus, often given a place of honor on the fireplace mantle or dining room credenza. While this post is not really focused on children's book illustrations, I feel it does embrace the spirit of My Retro Reads - sharing beautiful images from the past in order to bring us joy today. I hope you'll find these pages to be an inspiration for you to create your own retro Christmas crafts!
