Viewing page 16 of 90

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

From THE CHILDREN'S BOOK DEPARTMENT
REYNAL & HITCHCOCK, INC.  8 WEST FORTIETH ST.  NEW YORK 18, N.Y.

June 14, 1945

Miss Lily S. Saarinen
Saarinen and Swanson
309 Wabeek Building
Birmingham, Mich.

Dear Miss Saarinen:

I was very glad to get your letter, and know that you will shortly be in New York. Do let me know, long enough ahead of time, so that I can plan time with you, and have material ready, etc..

Yes, I do like your book, very much. I especially like the text, with but few changes. I also like the pictures, most of them. But in testing them with children, which is the safest measure, of course, since the books lasts or dies out according to their final liking of it, I found that, of two groups with whom the book was tested, the children almost unanimously did not care for the pictures (except the polar bear one, which is rather more realistic than most of the other pictures."  And I do agree with them, that the pictures for such good, realistic text, ought to be less impressionistic - more realistic, with *modeling to give a third-dimensional feeling. I may not be using just the right phrases. - [[strikethrough]] but [[/strikethrough]] I am not an art connoisseur - but I'm sure you get what I mean.

Feeling this way, I was a little at a loss to know what to do - because I can tell that you are probably more enthusiastic about your pictures even than your text - and might resent it very much if I frankly told you what I felt about the pictures as they stand at present.  But I was so enthusiastic about the idea and text of the book that I telephoned Mrs. Gruskin, and was pleased when she told me that you were reasonable and would probably understand what I meant.  Mrs. Gruskin further assured me that you have done more realistic, less sophisticated work in the past, and could probably make a nice compromise between the sort of thing you have done in the submitted sample pages, and what I want for the final book. 

So I hope that when you come to New York, you can bring with you some samples of this type of work. 

About the text: I like very much your selection of the wilder animals - the spectacular ones which children see in zoos; you have a wide range that gives you the benefit of many locales. (And here I want to bring in the pictures, in connection with what I have jut said - I do think you would add to the value of the book if you give or suggest