Ellen Raskin's Legacy at the Milwaukee Public Library

We braved the rain and 34 degree temperature to walk around downtown Milwaukee. Our destination point was the Milwaukee Public Library, which we had visited briefly once before. There wasn't any particular reason to go there -- I just like libraries, and have found that visiting the main library while on vacation often results in interesting finds, like J.R.R. Tolkien's Father Christmas book in Iowa City.

The Milwaukee library held an even greater treat for an Ellen Raskin-lover like me. I knew, of course, that Raskin was born and raised in Milwaukee, but I didn't know the children's room has a whole wall of books by Milwaukee authors, including Raskin. And not only that, but most of her books are signed, with an author's illustration on the title page.


I know Raskin's four novels well, but I've never seen her picture books.


After illustrating over a thousand books in 15 years, she published her first book in 1966: Nothing Ever Happens on My Block (1966).


Her second book is called Spectacles (1968), and it tells the story of a little girl named Iris who needs glasses. Before she gets them, she misperceives much of what she sees -- a concept alluded to in the illustration stamped into the cloth binding. (She would see it as a dog, but it's actually a girl in a bathtub.)


This book has just a simple dedication and signature. The fuzzy type is in the style of some of the inside illustrations simulating how Iris sees the world.


Raskin's drawings are super fun.


Here, Iris tries on different glasses.


Her next book, A & THE (1970), highlights Raskin's delight in typographic jokes.


And it also has a nice illustration on the title page.

It was just after this that Raskin published her first novel, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) (1971), so I would assume she was working on it at the same time.

The next picture book was also published in 1971.


The World's Greatest Freak Show is, in my opinion, the meatiest of Raskin's picture books.


With a four-footed author illo on the title page!


The story tells of Alastair, a good-looking young man who recruits a group of "freaks" (two-headed man, etc.) to appear in a show in a nearby country.


Little does Alastair suspect, but the country's entire population is made up of people who would usually be considered freaks, and he's the one who is considered to be a freak.


The freaks he had recruited for the show all live happily ever after.

I have my theories about how Freak Show's story would have resonated for Raskin, as a Jew from German Milwaukee, an art geek, and a woman with a chronic, disabling illness.


Franklin Stein (1972) was published next.


The characters in this book resemble those in Leon (I Mean Noel) the most.


1973's Who, Said Sue, Said Whoo? returns to a lighter story.


And features an owlish author illustration on the title page.


Moose, Goose and Little Nobody (1976) feels stylistically very similar to Who, Said Sue.


This is one of the few books where Raskin's signature is on a blank page.


The building drawings recall the details of Nothing Ever Happens on My Block. The use of solid ink colors is stunning.


Raskin's final picture book (1976) is tremendous fun, full of details and visual jokes. The lettering is excellent, too.


A curly-haired pig adorns the opening page, along with her signature.


The title page has little signs in the corners that say "Welcome to Title Page" and "You are now leaving Title Page."


The book is full of amazing pen and ink drawings, colored in bright ink, but this page near the end combines so many details, along with this bizarre Santa-clad ape, that I had to include it here.

Raskin would have been working on her Newbery-winning The Westing Game (1978) as these last two books were printed. Looking at the library's collection of books made me think about Raskin's exacting standards for the printing of her books. The color on the pages is perfectly printed -- there's not a registration error to be seen, and there's a lot of tight registration required.

Ellen Raskin's books are an inspiration for many reasons -- craftsmanship, humor, and most of all, creativity. It's always good to be reminded of the beauty and grace that people are capable of.

I'm so glad I didn't let the rain keep me from visiting the Milwaukee Public Library.