On a recent trip to San Francisco, I came across some great children's books at antique shops and thrift stores. I had a particular affection for the '50s and '60s children's books I saw. At one thrift shop, I found The First Book of Airplanes (1959), written and illustrated by Jeanne Bendick. Here's the wonderful cover, complete with the previous owner's manic scribblings.



Some googling of Jeanne Bendick's name reveals that the author/illustrator has done a number of science-related books for tots, though her work is completely new to me.

Here are the endpapers. I really like that helicopter on the top-left.





The figurework is quite nice too. Just look at these suited-up fellas!



The bottom illustration on this page is really graceful.



I also picked up The First Book of Electricity, another book in the series. It's tops too. I'll post some scans of that one soon.

One thing I've found is that these illustrations are deceptively simple. I've tried to ape the style in some of my personal sketches, but I've not had much success. The coloring technique, in particular, is difficult to master. Anyhow, I find it all very inspiring.