Children’s book week, November 15th to 20th 1920 1920

This image made by Jessie Willcox Smith promotes Children’s Book Week back in 1920, showing two kids surrounded by a mountain of books. You can almost smell the paper, can’t you? I'm thinking about Smith, imagining her in the studio, carefully choosing the palette – those warm browns and reds of the book bindings contrasting with the cool blues of the covers. Look at the little girl reaching for a book on the shelf, the slight tilt of her head, the black bow in her hair. What story is she hoping to find? Maybe Smith was thinking about her own childhood, the magic of getting lost in a good book. I love the way the books are stacked so high, almost like a fortress of knowledge and imagination. It reminds me that we’re all just adding to the conversation, trying to make sense of the world through stories and images. Smith reminds us that art and life are all about embracing uncertainty and finding beauty in the unexpected.