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John S. Goodall Rediscovered

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 11:48

For Lucy's first birthday (the afore mentioned adorable one year old), she received a copy of Shrewbettina's Birthday from her great aunt and uncle. I had completely forgotten about this book until now, but it was something I had when I was little. I remember loving this book and I hope Lucy enjoys it as much as I did (once she understands what, exactly, a book IS). The book is so wonderful, in fact, that I assumed it was a happy accident that artist created and could not be duplicated in other books, but upon a google search, I realized that it was not just a one off deal. John Strickland Goodall created over 30 wordless picture books, including the award winning The Adventures of Paddy Pork. His wife took ill in 1970 and he stayed home to take care of her, only leaving the house once a week. This lead to him having a lot of time on his hands to create these small masterpieces. It seems the only way to be a truly great artist is to lock yourself away and WORK, WORK, WORK!