Herewith a few illustrations from one of my favourite childhood books "Ra ta ta tam" .
Written by Peter Nickl and illustrated by Binette Schroeder. The story was translated from the German by Michael Bullock.
The book went everywhere with me. I spent hours exploring the illustrations, relating to the main character Matthew Tiny, who was always being told what to do by everyone else. I loved his eccentric inventions, especially the bicycle powered hot air balloon which he uses on his adventure to find and reclaim his beloved little train Ra ta ta tam.
The book was a gift to me from my eldest brother when I was 8 years old, and I think I have treasured the book as much for the inscription he left in it, as for the wonderful illustrations and tale.
The inscription reads: "Dear little Robyn, I hope you enjoy this short tale. I chose it because it is almost as strange as you are, Forever your Big Brother, Gary, 1975"
Beautiful, wonderful little book! I too cherish it and relate to your experience of spending hours studying the illustrations :)
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear somebody else spent their childhood lost within the pages of this little world (I always found the page with the half buried clock and the striped armchair the spookiest and the before/after pages of the garden the most engrossing for some reason).
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