Mayfifth1935 Designs: Books

Illustration for The Snow Goose by Peter Scott

Have you ever heard of Paul Gallico? If not, click the link on his name and learn about this American author. The reason I have always known about him is because I grew up with these two books on our book shelves. I would take them out every now and again to read. According to the Paul Gallico website, The Snow Goose is without doubt his most well-known book. It is subtitled A Story of Dunkirk, and is the story of a lonely hunchbacked artist who lives in an abandoned lighthouse in the marshlands of Essex, and his friendship with a young girl who brings him an injured Canada Snow Goose. It is only a short book but quite lovely. The Small Miracle is set in Assisi, and is the story of Pepino, a poor orphan, and his donkey Violetta. When Violetta falls ill, and the vet cannot do anything for her, Pepino tries to get permission to take her into the crypt of St. Francis. But when that permission is denied, then he realises that he has to go to higher authority... Both stories are gentle and homey and incredibly moving. See below for a few images I created via Instagram of the illustrations, Peter Scott illustrated The Snow Goose and David Knight illustrated The Small Miracle.

Illustration for The Snow Goose by Peter Scott

How beautiful is the enigmatic portrait above? Peter Scott [1909 - 1989] was a fascinating character, born in London, the only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott and sculptor Kathleen Bruce. He was only two years old when his father died. Robert Scott, in a last letter to his wife, advised her to "make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games."Oh yes and... his godfather was J. M. Barrie!