Liars and Saints

  Paul Zelinsky won awards for "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin," and he worked with Beverly Cleary on "Dear Mr. Henshaw" and "Strider." In yet another burst of creativity, he illustrated "Swamp Angel," which was a kind of response to "Paul Bunyan" and "Johnny Appleseed." ("Swamp Angel" is an American tall tale--but, at last, it's a tall tale with a female protagonist.) This would be enough for many artists, but, in yet another phase, Zelinsky *also* made the pop-up book that critics have called the greatest of all time. That's "The Wheels on the Bus." You might not think this song has a plot, but it does. The wheels go round and round, and all's well--but then the lyrics suggest that something has changed. The wipers go swish; the windows go up. Why? The clouds must have gathered; it's raining. It's this change in weather that fires Zelinsky's imagination. The portly driver...

The changes are coming fast. For weeks, I've been dripping Debrox in my ear--hoping to remove wax--and I had no idea Josh was watching. Yesterday, he picked up the sealed Debrox and held it to his ear, then--I swear--he smirked at me. Josh now has his own highly stylized dance, for "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." And he found a doll and began to eat its head, which seems to be a parody of my own behavior with Susannah? (Or an expression of brotherly ambivalence?) We're reading: *"The Wheels on the Bus," Zelinsky. Named the greatest pop-up book of all time. *Marcia Brown's "Cinderella." The gowns! The wigs! *Zelinksy's "Hansel and Gretel"--with its all-star villain, a witch in a house made of pancakes. Happy Reading.

 Today, I'm celebrating the writer and artist Paul Zelinsky. I've written before about Zelinsky's terrific "Rumpelstiltskin," but (today) I'd like to spotlight Rapunzel. In "Rapunzel," Zelinsky gives us beautiful Italian interiors, and snapshots of something that seems to be the Tuscan countryside. We see a young maiden with perfect, creamy skin and flowing blond hair, and she wears fabulous frocks. By contrast, her oppressor, the Witch, has papery, wrinkled skin and crazy eyes. (Zelinsky seems to get special pleasure from drawing ghouls, and his insane Witch makes me think of his equally frightening Rumpelstiltskin.) Maybe my favorite "Rapunzel" image has the Witch snipping off the maiden's hair; the maiden covers her ears and shuts her eyes, blocking out the world. You can feel her sense of horror. Finally: Did you know that Zelinsky did the pictures for "Dear Mr. Henshaw" and its sequel? I'm including, here, Zelinsky...

Today, I'm sharing three images from Paul Zelinsky's "Rumpelstiltskin." This book was written in the 1980s, and though it didn't win *top* recognition from the Caldecott people, it did win silver medals. (Zelinsky's "Rapunzel" did *indeed* win top honors.) Zelinsky is mainly an artist, but he'll re-tell a story now and then. We all know Rumpelstiltskin. He is the man with a plan. He wants a kid. He can't get one. Inventiveness is required. Rumpelstiltskin uses his one random talent--turning straw into gold--to help a poor woman. He'll get her the gold if she sacrifices her first-born. This deal is made in haste--and, later, when a first-born actually arrives, the shit hits the fan. I'm not sure there is a moral here; maybe it's just that life is terrifying, and you need to think on your feet, and even then, you may be in trouble. In any case, I appreciate the scariness, and I appreciate how Zelinsky makes his villain half-funny/ha...