Search Results: Titles starting with B from Books of Wonder

DE BRUNHOFF, Jean. Babar en Famille. [Paris]: Hachette [1938]. 4to, [40]pp. Gray quarter-cloth with color pictorial boards. Color pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on every page. Edges rubbed, corners lightly bumped, light scratches to front cover, else a surprisingly clean, bright copy internally.
First edition. The fifth and final Babar book to be published in France (Babar and Father Christmas was issued in the US in English and French, as the de Brunhoff family had fled France prior to Germany's invasion in World War II). Issued in English as Babar and his Children, this book was issued the year after Jean de Brunhoff's passing. Babar and Celeste have had triplets. They certainly keep Babar on his toes, but the king readily admits, "Truly it is not easy to bring up a family, but how nice the babies are!"

A poster for Babar's World Tour by Laurent De Brunhoff. Measuring 33" x 25.5".

[ANDRE, R.] The Babes in the Wood. NY: McLoughlin Bros (ca. 1895). 4to, [12]pp. Color pictorial wrappers with linen pages. 6 full-page color illustrations. Edges lightly worn, some printing press ink in lower margin of first and last leaf, else a clean, tight copy.
Possible salesman's copy, having untrimmed edges. The classic tale of two young children, orphaned by illness, whose uncle conspires to have them disappear in order to steal their inheritance. Literally the source for the expression "a babe in the woods." With striking illustrations by R. Andre.

STEPTOE, John. Baby Says. [NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988]. Oblong 8vo, [24]pp. Color pictorial boards. Color illustrations on nearly every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket. Signed by the author, Caldecott Honor artist John Steptoe. Rare thus.
First edition, having the complete number line of 1 through 10 on the copyright page. A charmingly simple tale of a younger brother's attempts to get his big brother's attention so he can be removed from his crib and join in on his big brother's fun! Issued the year he won the Caldecott Honor for Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, this was the last book published in his lifetime.

STEIG, William.
The Bad Island. NY: Windmill Books/Simon and Schuster [1969]. 4to, [32]pp. Red boards pictorially stamped in black. Color illustrations on every page. Spine ends slightly rubbed, else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (a few closed tears around edges, 1" x ½" chip at upper right of front panel, some light soiling).
First edition. A hilarious fable about an island filled with ugly monsters whose world gets turned upside down when beautiful flowers begin to bloom. One of Steig's earliest picture books.

RASCHKA, Chris. A Ball for Daisy. NY: Schwartz & Wade, [2011]. Square 8vo, [32]pp. Color pictorial boards. Blue endpapers; color illustrations on every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (medal not affixed). Signed by the author, two-time Caldecott Medalist, Chris Raschka.First edition. 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner. Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. In this wordless picture book, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka explores in one brilliant picture after another the joy and sadness of play, loss, and friendship.

[BAUM, L. Frank]. Bandit Jim Crow. The Twinkle Tales by Laura Bancroft. With illustrations by Maginel Wright Enright. Chicago: Reilly & Britton [1906]. 12mo, 63pp. Tan cloth pictorially stamped in red, light green, blue, and black. Red endpapers; 14 color plates and some smaller illustrations in color and b&w. Spine ends a bit rubbed, front cover lightly so, else an unusually clean, tight copy without the usual damage to the cover and spine stamping.
First edition. Being one of 6 books written pseudonymously by L. Frank Baum in the Twinkle Tales series and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright, the sister of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. How Twinkle comes to the aid of an injured crow who then betrays her trust, only to eventually get his just desserts. Bienvenue p288.

BAUM, L[yman] Frank. Baum's American Fairy Tales. Illustrated by George O'Connor. NY: Books of Wonder, 1997. 8vo, [vi] 162pp. Navy cloth with spine stamped in silver. Pictorial endpapers; hand-colored limitation leaf, 16 one-page and numerous smaller b&w illustrations. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket. Signed and numbered by the artist, George O'Connor, on a hand-colored limitation leaf.
Deluxe edition, being number 23 of 35 signed and numbered copies with a limitation leaf hand-colored by the artist. A limited edition of 350 was also released whose limitation leaf featured the b&w illustration, but was not hand-colored. Originally published in 1901 by George M. Hill, and later expanded with three new tales by Bobbs-Merrill in a 1908 second edition, this edition's text is based on the 1920's third edition in which the stories were reordered. A series of 15 humorous fairy tales set in America by the beloved author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, featuring stunning new illustrations by… Read More

A promotional poster created in 2010 to celebrate the publication of the second book in Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy, Behemoth, and featuring illustrations by Keith Thompson. The poster is printed on heavy cardstock and measures 14" x 11".

LAWSON, Robert. Ben and Me. A New and Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin. As written by his Good Mouse Amos. Lately Discovered, Edited & Illustrated by Robert Lawson. Boston: Little, Brown, 1939. 8vo, x 114pp. Light brown cloth pictorially stamped in dark brown. Pictorial endpapers; b&w illustrations throughout. Spine ends minutely rubbed, else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (rear panel slightly soiled, price-clipped). One of the finest copies of this title we've ever seen!
First edition. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most famous inventors in American history, and according to this amusing book, he got most of his ideas – the good ones at any rate – from a mouse! Funny, interesting and wise, Ben and Me is a classic American story that has been read by generations of young people. Once you've met Amos the mouse, you'll always remember Benjamin Franklin a little differently than the history books do. The first of Lawson's three animal narrated biographical tales. The basis… Read More

Promotional poster celebrating the release of two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Van Allsburg's 1982 picture book, Ben's Dream. Measuring 14" x 8.25".

[OZ REFERENCE]. Bibliographia Oziana. A Concise Bibliographical Checklist of the Oz Books by L. Frank Baum and His Successors. By Douglas G. Greene & Peter E. Hanff. Founded on and Continuing the Baum Bugle Checklist by Dick Martin, James E. Haff and David L. Greene. Kinderhook, IL: The International Wizard of Oz Club [1988]. 8vo, 146pp. Red pictorial paper wrappers. 32 pages of b&w photographs. A fine copy.
Second edition, first printing, paperback issue, being the "Revised and Enlarged" edition issued in 1988 which supplanted the 1976 first edition, expanding and correcting various entries. First published in 1976, Bibliographia Oziana has served as a key resource on the scholarship and bibliography of the Oz books. This is the second of three printings of this important reference book, the third printing being a reprint of this edition issued in 2002. One of the foremost resources used by Oz collectors to determine edition, printing, and state of this bibliographically complicated series, this is… Read More

HARRISON, Vashti. Big. NY: Little, Brown [2023]. 4to, [56]pp. Color pictorial boards. Color pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on every page including one gate-fold spread. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (no medal affixed). Signed by the author/artist, Vashti Harrison, with an art print created for the book (also signed by Harrison) laid in!
First edition. 2024 Caldecott Medal Winner! With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.

Promotional poster for the 1990 publication of The Big Book for Peace, illustration by Maurice Sendak and featuring the names of all the celebrated contributors. Scarce. Measuring 24" x 18".

COOPER, Elisha. Big Cat, Little Cat. NY: Roaring Brook Press [2017]. Oblong 8vo, [32]pp. Color pictorial boards. Color pictorial endpapers; b&w illustrations on every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (no medal affixed). Signed by the author, Caldecott Honor artist Elisha Cooper, with a small drawing of two cats and a ball of yarn.
First edition. 2018 Caldecott Honor Book! An older white cat is a family's sole companion until it is joined by a younger black cat. The white cat welcomes the black cat. Over the course of the story, the two cats age, until the white cat dies. The white cat is mourned by the family and the black cat, until one day a new white kitten joins the family and the black cat teaches him, just as he had been when he was little.

Promotional poster celebrating the 1991 publication of Caldecott Honor artist Lane Smith's picture book The Big Pets. The poster measures 21" x 15".

RANSOME, Arthur. The Big Six. London: Jonathan Cape [1940]. 12mo, 400pp. Green cloth stamped in gilt on spine and blind-stamped on front. Two-color map endpapers; b&w illustrations throughout. Spine ends and corners slightly rubbed, light foxing on fore-edge of sheets – but not extending internally, endpapers minutely foxed, in original color pictorial dust jacket (light edgewear, some soiling, spine lightly sunned).
First edition. The ninth book in Arthur Ransome's beloved Swallows and Amazons series. Ransome returns once more to his beloved Norfolk Broads where trouble is again brewing between the three boatbuilders' sons (who more or less live full-time aboard the Death and Glory) and the three Coots, Tom, Dorothea and Dick. The problem arises when the boats are constantly being set adrift, and all the evidence points squarely to the boatbuilders' sons. In a clever bit of detective work, and with some help from a sophisticated photographic trap, the two trios come together as the Big Six and… Read More

LEIBER, Fritz. The Big Time. With a New Introduction by Robert Thurston. Boston: Gregg Press, 1976. 8vo, xv 129pp. Dark green cloth with spine stamped in red and gold. Spine ends minutely rubbed else a fine copy without dust jacket as issued. Signed by the author, Fritz Leiber. Scarce signed.
First hardcover edition, later (probably second) printing. 1958 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel! This novel was first published in two parts in Galaxy Magazine's March and April 1958 issues and issued as a paperback by Ace Books in 1961. A locked room mystery involving a war fought across time. All Gregg Press titles were printed on acid-free paper, sewn and bound in library-grade cloth bindings stamped with a color panel and gold lettering, and issued without dust jackets. Most of their print runs were under 500 copies, with no title ever selling more than 1,250 copies.

A promotional growth chart created to commemorate the 2003 publication of the second book in Jane Yolen and Mark Teague's Dinosaurs series, How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? Measuring 18" x 48".

ROBINSON, W[illiam] Heath. Bill the Minder. London: Constable & Co, 1912. 4to, xvi 256pp. Green cloth pictorially stamped in gilt with color pictorial paper label affixed to the front. 16 mounted color plates (all but frontispiece with captioned tissue guards) and numerous b&w illustrations. Spine edges and corners lightly rubbed, spine slightly sunned, small bump at top of front cover, small spot discolored below title on front, slight foxing to fore edge, endpapers and first and last leaves, else an internally clean, tight copy.
First edition. Bill and his friends Boadicea and Chad encounter a host of odd folks as Bill's ability to create fantastic machines gets them out of one scrape after another. The basis for the British television series and generally considered one of W. Heath Robinson's finest works.