‘Anybody can walk in and connect’: 100 years of original children’s book art stirs memories

Even for those who never read the children’s classics — or had such books read to them — a new exhibition at the Dunn Museum in Libertyville is meant to spark memories.

You may not have heard of Theodor Geisel, a writer and illustrator, for example, but his work as Dr. Seuss is known worldwide.

For generations, picture books and their unforgettable images have been essential in the education of children. That’s still true with new characters entering the collective consciousness.

“Childhood Classics: 100 Years of Original Illustration” features original artwork from more than 75 beloved children’s books and follows the evolution and influence of illustration in American children’s literature.

Sarah Noble Ives’ pen-and-ink Mother Goose artwork, Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” Garth Williams’ portrayal of Stuart Little and the digital creations of Mo Willems are among a long timeline of varied offerings and familiar characters.

“Everything starts with a picture,” explained Alyssa Firkus, director of education for the Lake County Forest Preserve District, which operates the museum at its headquarters in Libertyville. “This exhibition is special because I think anybody can walk in and connect.”

And share the moments on display, added Alicia Fullerton, museum operations manager. The exhibition is available with the price of general admission and runs through Jan. 19. For ticket information, visit https://www.lcfpd.org/museum.

“The goal of ‘Childhood Classics’ is to bring generations together through storytelling,” Fullerton said. “The exhibition celebrates illustration as both an art form and a shared memory, while connecting to the Dunn Museum’s own collections and educational missions.”

Visitors on a recent weekday included Wauconda mom Christine Keller and her daughters, Mickey, 3, and Lizzie, 5. The girls are homeschooled and the family’s first visit to Dunn was considered a learning experience.

“We read every single night,” said Keller. Dr. Seuss is a go-to selection but Richard Scarry also is on the list.

The girls may have been too young to appreciate the nuances, but they enjoyed the puppet characters and other interactive features, such as the smell of cookies from “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” series.

Keller said the exhibit included “stuff I haven’t thought about for a long time.”

“We go to the library every week so we have a big stack” of books to read, Keller added. “I’ll probably pick up a Madeline book.”

The traveling exhibition was curated and organized by Lee Cohen and wife, Lois Sarkisian, who operate Art Kandy near Los Angeles. The couple has been collecting illustrations for about 35 years and got the idea while reading to their young son.

“We became connected with the narrative art of children’s books,” according to Cohen. “Picture books are where our lifetime of reading begins.”

Fullerton said illustrations, especially early on, weren't regarded as high art and many were discarded.

“To have some of those pieces that were kept is very cool,” she said.

The Dunn museum formerly was known as the Discovery Museum and based at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda until closing in 2016. A Golden Books exhibit there was popular.

“We knew that was successful so we wanted to bring something like that back again,” Firkus said.