By Mona AlvaradoFrazier / Guest contributor
The other day I visited our local county museum and found one of my favorite “read to the kids” books. A retrospective journey through the career of Simms Taback filled half of the large room. Poster size book and magazine covers decorated the walls, mounds of his books sat up on shelves, and his amazing “Joseph” coat stood upright in the center of the room among many other wonderful surprises.
You may not recognize the author’s name but I’m sure you’ve read one or more of his books to your children, watched his work on the Children’s Television Workshop, or have seen his cover illustrations on Scholastic Magazine.
Simms Taback grew up in a Bronx cooperative housing project of mainly Jewish immigrants. During his writing career he became an advocate for artist rights. His bold colorful and textured collage-like illustrations contained hidden surprises, beautiful details and reflected his neighborhood, culture, language and experiences. The lyrical quality of his words along with his beautiful illustrations made his books stand out. It is no wonder that two of his books received the Caldecott Awards for illustrations in 1998 and 2000.
One of my favorite posters, and where I learned what “Shlemiel” and “Shlimazel” meant (remember when LaVerne & Shirley used to sing those words) was this one:
Besides books and covers of magazines, his work extended to the design of the original McDonald’s “Happy Meal,” container in 1977.
From New York, Simms Taback moved to Ventura County in 2007. He passed away on Dec. 25, 2011 from pancreatic cancer. A couple of weeks before his death he had attended the opening reception of the exhibit. I would like to imagine that he felt the love and admiration of the guests in attendance.
The “Simms Taback: Making Pictures for Children,” retrospective runs until Feb. 12, 2012 at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura. Click here for more information on the retrospective.
— Mona AlvaradoFrazier is a writer and proprietor the BookNook in Downtown Sol, 328 W. Third St., Oxnard. To see more of her work, visit www.latinapen.blogspot.com