Peter Parnall has illustrated a lot of children’s book over the years, most notably for the stories of Byrd Baylor. His style is real easy to spot – bright colors, lots of empty space, and usually some type of cactus, bird, or desert cliff. His work might be a little “Southwest Trading Post” at times, but his illustrations have always stuck with us since reading Everybody Needs A Rock when we were younger. Turns out Parnall illustrated the original cover of Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire as well, so that makes him okay with in these parts. The books he and Baylor did in the 70s and 80s might not be much of a read anymore, but the pictures are still great.

More Parnall book covers

Posted: October 5th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
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I got a birthday package in the mail last week that had an old copy of Foxfire 4 and a box of Douglas Fir tea inside. Damn fine gift. Foxfire Magazine (The term “foxfire” is a name commonly applied to several species of bioluminescent fungi that grow on rotting wood in damp forests) was started in 1966 by a teacher named Eliot Wiggington and his students. Wiggington asked his students what would make them interested in English and they decided to write a magazine containing stories and interviews gathered from elders in their rural southern Appalachian community. It’s still in production, still written entirely by high schoolers and the articles can focus on a specific person’s life or stories, the lore of a specific town or community, details or how-to information on traditional crafts and skills, or any number of other things. The Foxfire books (there are 12 in total) are collections of the magazine’s articles. The volume that was sent to me, Foxfire 4, has articles on fiddle making, springhouses, horse trading, sassafras tea, berry buckets, knife making, wood carving, logging, cheese making, and gardening.

Thanks Heidi.

Posted: October 5th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 2