Books with author Bruno Munari

In the early 1960s Italian design legend Bruno Munari published his visual case studies on shapes: Circle, Square, and, a decade later, Triangle. Using examples from ancient Greece and Egypt, as well as works by Buckminster Fuller, Le Corbusier, and Alvar Aalto, Munari invests the three shapes with specific qualities: the circle relates to the divine, the square signifies safety and enclosure, and the triangle provides a key connective form for designers.One of the great designers of the twentieth century, Munari contributed to the fields of painting, sculpture, design, and photography while teaching throughout his seventy-year career. After World War II he began to focus on book design, creating children's books known for their simplicity and playfulness.

For Drawing a Tree, Bruno Munari proposes: “When drawing a tree, always remember that every branch is more slender than the one that came before. Also note that the trunk splits into two branches, then those branches split in two, then those in two, and so on, and so on, until you have a full tree, be it straight, squiggly, curved up, curved down, or bent sideways by the wind.”

Bruno Munari was an internationally acclaimed artist, designer, and children's book creator. Acontemporary of Leo Leonni, his books have been hailed as "among the most original, inventive and beautiful ever created." Zoo is among his most graphically stunning works. Meet the kangaroo, who is all legs but doesn't know it, the zebra in his striped pajamas, and the humpy camel, who has a seat for you. Young readers will enjoy Munari's bright, bold illustrations; older readers will appreciate hiswry humor. From children to collectors, Bruno Munari's Zoo is certain to enchant a whole new generation. "Graphic designer Bruno Munari is one of the most inventive picture book creators I know. I have been inspired, entertained, and in awe of his work since I was a graphic design student in Germany more than 50 years ago. And Zoo has been one of my favorites. I am delighted that it is available once again for a new generation of picture book readers of all ages." Eric Carle

In Drawing the Sun, Bruno Munari suggests: “When drawing the sun, try to have on hand colored paper, chalk, felt-tip markers, crayons, pencils, ballpoint pens―you can draw a sun with any one of them. Also remember that sunset and dawn are the back and front of the same phenomenon: when we are looking at the sunset, the people over there are looking at the dawn.”

Edizioni Corraini's Bruno Munari Workshop series focuses on a variety of creative tasks and skills that inspire the active involvement of adults and children alike--flower arranging, in this case. In A Flower with Love, the beloved Italian artist and designer lets us in on the secret: "...what really matters is the love with which a little daisy, a lavender sprig or some moss are chosen, that one there in particular and not that other one." With full-color images of Munari's whimsical and inventive creations in each spread, we learn that flower arranging is not an obscure art but a natural gesture requiring more care and imagination than money. Munari's examples are not to be copied slavishly; they represent examples to aid the reader in uncovering their own natural aesthetic sensibilities.