Pictorial Showcase: Children’s Book End Paper Art

Have you ever gotten to the end of the story that you are reading to your little one and actually sat and marveled at the beautiful illustration work that lives on the end pages? It’s easy to forget about them because they are at the end of the story! “That’s it, now lights out, go to bed!” But next time you are reading, don’t forget to take a moment and appreciate the intricate works that act as the quite literal bookends in your story. Here are a few that we love and admire. Enjoy!

The Golden Circus Book by Kathryn Jackson with end paper art by Alice and Martin Provensen, 2005

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson with illustrations by Richard Duvoisin, 1944

The Fireside Book of Favorite American Songs by Margaret Bradford Boni, with illustrations by Aurelius Battaglia, 1952

Harlem’s Little Blackbird by Renee Watson with illustrations by our own Christian Robinson, 2012

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson with illustration by Gyo Fujikawa, 1951

The Indoor Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations by Leonard Weisgard, 1942

Grammar Can Be Fun by Munroe Leaf, 1934

Mother Goose: Heritage Edition with illustrations by Richard Duvoisin, 1943

The Joke Book by Oscar Weigle with illustrations by Weigle Bill and Bonnie Rutherford, 1963

My First Nursery Book with illustrations by Franciszka Themerson, 1947

Topsy Turvy World by Atak, 2013

Do you have any favorites?