I was up to my eyeballs in research for my MFA project and looking for some inspiration. I reached back into the recesses of my memory, about 40 years worth, and recalled what inspired me visually as a child. Easy answer, Golden Books. For those my age or older you'll remember them, the thin books about 8" x 10" with a gold foil spine. These were my early readers as well as my visual inspiration. Why? Because they were beautifully illustrated books, for cheap. You could get them at the grocery store, a trip to the bookstore was not required for these beauties. But the artwork was not cut rate, it was beautifully done by illustrators such as Gustaf Tenggren, Leonard Weisgard, Richard Scarry, J.P. Miller and more.
I came across two great resources for those interested in revisiting these classics. One is a blog http://goldengems.blogspot.com/ by Freckled Derelict and another is a link to a traveling show http://www.nccil.org/experience/artists/goldenbooks/ that the NCCIL (National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature) has put together. I'm hoping that maybe the show can make it's way to Utah in the near future, cross your fingers.
Take a minute and check out these sites, and enjoy a trip down memory lane and some really terrific children's illustration from the 40's, 50's and 60's.