collecting is fun ... with gaston caba

In our latest edition, we celebrate not only sharks but also... vintage books! We love collecting these treasures from the past and we are not the only ones. Our friend-illustrator Gaston Caba collects them too and here, he shares his favourite ones. 

Little Riddles 1, 2, 3 & 4 by Bennett Cerf, illustrated by Roy McKie. 
I love this pack of four little books (14x11 cm) illustrated by McKie, one of Dr. Seuss collaborators. They are a collection of fun riddles, which children can solve by turning the next page. The loose ink drawings and the simple CMYK print make this one a lovely classic. 

How Santa Claus Had a Long and Difficult Journey Delivering His Presents by Fernando Krahn (Delacorte, 1970)
I ordered a Brautigan book online and they sent me this one instead (both were Delacorte books). So it was quite a surprise. Krahn was a wonderful Chilean illustrator. He did a fun & fine job on this black, white & red silent book. It seems that in 1969 Santa was a little sleepy & clumsy and he needed some help. So the toys come up with their own ideas about how to fly a sleigh.

Is This You? by Ruth Krauss and Crocket Johnson (originally published by William R. Scott Inc., 1955; my copy is a newest one by Scholastic, 1988

This is a very innovative kind of book for 1955 (and also for 2021, I guess). It's a fun non-story book asking questions about the reader. So it turns out to be philosophical too! It prompts the little readers to do their own book with all the gathered information. Oh my, this couple did know about doing great books! Go grab any of the many they did together.

What Do You Say, Dear? by Sesyle Joslin, illustrated by Maurice Sendak (originally published by Addison-Wesley 1958, my copy is an edition by Harper Trophy, 1986)
This is a little handbook of etiquette with an absurd take. I love the rough brush line that Sendak uses on the illustrations (his style before Where The Wild Things Are), as well as all the fun situations and characters (eg. a bear playing a sax or a decapitated dragon).

Everyone Ready? by Franz Brandenberg, illustrated by Aliki (originally published in 1979, my Spanish copy is from Bruguera, 1982)
A family of mice rush to take the train but the parents can´t make it as fast as the siblings. So the train starts moving and the kids travel alone, turning this book into something like a road movie! Each of the mice is given a personality and they help each other to solve this big BIG problem they are faced with. Aliki line drawings in this book are SO cute that my heart explodes.

Gaston Caba is an illustrator & author of comic books for children, currently based in Spain. He has been a longtime contributor of Anorak and DOT as he is behind Round Bunny, DOT's regular wordless comic series and was our guest illustrator for Anorak's Parks edition.