Author: Charles Solomon
Series: Disney Editions Deluxe
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Disney Editions
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
What kid didn’t grow up reading Disney Golden Books? These little books have such memories for me, I can always remember great times picking them up at the supermarket and reading them on the way home…and then over and over. “The Art of the Disney Golden Books” does not only deliver pristine and gorgeous art from these books they also provide a lot of history on these books. In fact, they started all the way back in 1933. Ranging from past classics “101 Dalmatians” to “Peter Pan” to “Once Upon A Wintertime” to “Alice in Wonderland” (which I still have my original) to today’s classics like “Toy Story”, “Finding Nemo”, “Tangled” and even as recent as “Frozen”. This is a must own for anyone big or small to enjoy either for themselves or with their family.
Official Premise: The Art of the Disney Golden Books celebrates a legacy that has now thrived for more than eighty years and continues to influence new generations of artists and filmmakers. Through interviews with contemporary animators who recall tracing the characters in their childhood Disney Golden Books, paintings by artists who influenced and inspired the Disney Golden Book illustrations, and a generous complement of Golden Book artwork-much of which was thought to have been lost until very recently-the rich tradition of the series is explored in this vibrant volume.
Disney Press really delivered an amazing book here. I literally couldn’t put it down as I had to see what was coming next and wanted to read every fact given by author Charles Solomon. Some of his other books include “Tale As Old As Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast”, “Disney Lost and Found” and
“The Disney That Never Was”. So he has quite the history with the company. Some of the images in the book are such high quality and I love the fact that they are actual preview images, meaning they do not have any text included on them. It is really cool to see them presented in that way. Actually since I have read some of these numerous times, I found myself even able to fill in some blanks from memory.
The breakdown of the book is also very interesting. We start with the history of Golden Books, which is unbelievable interesting. Then we switch gears to beautiful art work and, most importantly, to the talented artists that have worked on these books. There is also great sections on the memories and influences for these titles. I think this one really hit home for me since I have such a connection with these books. There is focus on the new creations and past discoveries of characters found in the Golden Books as well from Rapunzel to “Peter and the Wolf”. The book closes out discussing the legacy of Golden Books and the future as well. Can’t wait to read this again and share these books with my own daughter.
