Books with author Franciszka Themerson

A true masterpiece of book design and illustration for beginning readers, this collection pairs well-known nursery tales with uniquely beautiful period illustrations that look as fresh and vital today as they did six decades ago, when the book was first published in Great Britain. Never before published in the United States, My First Nursery Book features four beloved stories: “Who Killed Cock Robin?,” “The Gingerbread Man,” “Three Little Pigs,” and “The Three Bears.” Franciszka Themerson, a Polish avant-garde artist and filmmaker who returned to children’s book illustration as a refugee in London in the 1940s, is regarded as one of the great talents in classic children’s book illustration. Finally, American children can experience and enjoy this remarkable volume, filled with stunning illustrations that will bring a new audience to Themerson’s genius.

The Table That Ran Away to the Woods tells the story of a writing desk that one day “grabbed two pairs of shoes / ran downstairs, and took flight,” escaping into the countryside with its owners in barefoot pursuit. This is the first time the tale—first published in a Polish newspaper in 1940 and re-created in this exquisite collaged version in 1963—has been made available to an English-speaking audience.Praise for The Table that Ran Away to the Woods:"The story, an afterword explains, ties into the Themersons’ avantgarde filmmaking, writing, and artwork in the 1930s (an early version appeared in an expatriate newspaper published in Paris). Readers needn’t be familiar with the backstory to appreciate the collage-like images of the table scampering over hills and reclaiming its existence."—Publishers Weekly

A true masterpiece of book design and illustration for beginning readers, this collection pairs well-known nursery tales with uniquely beautiful period illustrations that look as fresh and vital today as they did six decades ago, when the book was first published in Great Britain. Never before published in the United States, My First Nursery Book features four beloved stories: “Who Killed Cock Robin?,” “The Gingerbread Man,” “Three Little Pigs,” and “The Three Bears.” Franciszka Themerson, a Polish avant-garde artist and filmmaker who returned to children’s book illustration as a refugee in London in the 1940s, is regarded as one of the great talents in classic children’s book illustration. Finally, American children can experience and enjoy this remarkable volume, filled with stunning illustrations that will bring a new audience to Themerson’s genius.