Mid-Century children's books  

And then there are these classics by Czech illustrator/author Miroslav Sasek. A bunch are back in print as of the moment. This is not the full selection!

Check out this link for some great Avant-garde children's books
http://www.philnel.com/2012/10/05/avantgarde/

Yes Spanky, Sasek's books are wonderful. Here are some pictures from our french version of "This is New York".
Visit this website for more info about Mr Sasek's work: http://www.miroslavsasek.com
Thanks for the link Jesgord.

I just picked this one up for $1.50! Great illustration and typography by Helen Frederico 1963.

Bruce Angrave, from The Mechanical Emperor 1945

A cute little hungarian book "Bölcsödében" (Nursery), 1977
Illustration by Vera Zsoldos.

A recent acquisition: "Timoléon découvre l'Asie" (Timoleon discovers Asia). Illustration and text by Jacques Galan, France. Publisher: Hachette
Mr Galan website: http://jacques-galan.fr

A glimpse of a psychedelic belgian book "Hippolyte et le caméléon", 1972. Publisher: Dupuis. Author Charles Degotte (1933-1993) who was also a well-known author of comic books. Decors by Dany Thiry.

This is one I picked up a while ago when my son was a toddler. The art is fabulous, but a bit odd. It's called True to Life ABC, published in 1952 and the art is by Johan Polak

Love this thread. Have many of the ones already mentioned. Here's another.
Ten Big Farms by Dahlov Ipcar, 1958.

Great book jjw!
The famous french illustrator Alain Grée published over 300 books, most in the 1960s and 70s. Here are a few pictures from our copy of "La Rivière", 1966. Publisher: Casterman, Belgium.
There is a very nice website dedicated to his work: http://alaingree.com

Another favorite.
"Which Way To The Zoo" by William Wondriska, 1962.

The cover of "Which Way To The Zoo" is amazing!
Another one: "L'arbre de Léonard" (Léonard's tree) text by Marie Tenaille and illustrations by one of the Boland sisters. Suzanne Boland (Belgium 1913-2008).
Publisher: Casterman 1973

I'm a fan of Virginia Lee Burton, though her books were a little earlier than the MCM timeframe (late 30s to early 50s). They have that sensibility, though. And the stories are great! So many books these days are either preachy or they are written to appeal to hipster parents more than kids. Or they're just bad. Of course there were insipid stories back in the day too, but it seems worse now.

A colorful little book titled "Antonin et le petit cirque" (Antonin and the little circus). Text by Charles Degotte and illustration by one famous belgian comics author Will (Willy Maltaite 1927-2000). Publisher: Dupuis (1967)