Charles Van Sandwyk

I had not heard of this Vancouver illustrator until I met him yesterday at the Alcuin Society Wayzgoose, but he is the author/artist of many exquisite books, with the illustrations also sold as cards. He recently illustrated the 2005 Folio Society Edition of Wind in the Willows. Since I am not familiar with book collecting, I find the price out of my range for buying one of these books as a birthday or Christmas present. I am also wondering if one has to reserve a copy of Sandwyk’s next book now, although it will not be published for another two years.

To my delight and anticipation, he will be illustrating Alice in Wonderland next. Although I am fond of the original drawings of John Tenniel, especially the white knight and the red queen, I look forward to what Sandwyk will offer. (Images of Alice by a variety of artists.)

In Sandwyk’s artwork, the detail is exquisite, and the tenderness of expression in the faces and inclination of the creatures is fascinating. (See the goats below.) This next one of the frogs, is a healthy antidote to the dating couple in the last post. Illustrations of this sort offer the timelessness that literature demands.

(I am immersed in Alice these days, as I am working on several chapters of Wonderland, turning them into short plays for a reader’s theatre production for grade 4/5 students. The play on language is sometimes over their heads but the portrayal of adult illogicality is hilarious and much appreciated. As always there are those students whose reading level is not in the appropriate range for them to be sent to my class, and the object of the game is to make these students regret that fact.