Virginia Lee Burton's name may bring to mind a well loved steam shovel and his friend Mike Mulligan, a sweet little house, and a snow plow named Katy, but recently we have stumbled onto two other Virginia Lee Burton books that we just had to share.
The Song of Robin Hood is a collection of intricately designed and illustrated sagas of Robin Hood. Complete with music, this book has had us singing,creating costumes, and embracing true bard like behavior, while living inside these 18 ballads.
In a 20th anniversary edition, The Emperor's New Clothes brings back to life a fairytale classic. These illustrations are done in stunning colors and brings out the little details of the story. For myself I love the looms and the detail to weaving and sewing. Each time I look at this book I discover something new. I hadn't known that she had illustrated this story so it was a real treat when I discovered it at the bookstore.
For most of us we know Virgina Lee Burton as an illustrator, but she was also a dancer,musician,designer,sculptor,and printmaker. Along with all of these endeavors she lived a full and happy life with her husband Demetrios and their two sons.
As a family they raised sheep, entertained friends,taught art and design classes which later evolved into the Folly Cove Designers.
After living through both of these books I became very curious as to who this talented woman was. I spent a great afternoon watching a Sense of Place,on DVD. Like so many of us,she balanced a family life with creating. After knowing more about her,I'm so inspired and encouraged to keep moving forward,one creation at a time.
