Harold Jones (artist) facts for kids

Harold Jones (born February 22, 1904, died 1992) was a talented British artist. He was famous for drawing pictures for children's books. He also wrote some of these books himself! One expert, Brian Alderson, even called him "perhaps the most original children's book illustrator" of his time. Harold Jones first became well-known for his pictures in a book called This Year: Next Year (1937). These pictures were made using a special printing method called lithography. The book was a collection of poems by Walter de la Mare.

Early Life and Art School

Harold Jones was born in London, England. He began studying art in 1920 at Goldsmith's College. There, he learned from a teacher named Edmund Sullivan. Sullivan had also taught another famous illustrator, Arthur Rackham. Harold Jones continued his art studies at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in 1922 and 1923. Later, he earned a special scholarship to attend the Royal College of Art.

His Most Famous Work

Harold Jones's most celebrated work was Lavender's Blue: A book of nursery rhymes (1954). This book was a collection of popular nursery rhymes. It was named after one of the well-known rhymes inside it, "Lavender's Blue".

The Library Association in Britain gave Harold Jones a "Special Commendation" for this book in 1954. This was part of the Carnegie Medal awards. These awards recognize the best children's books written by British authors each year. Lavender's Blue was so good that it helped inspire the creation of a new award. This new award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, was started in 1955. It specifically celebrates amazing illustrations in children's books.

Lavender's Blue was also published in the United States in 1956. There, it was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association. It was also added to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1960.

Where to Find His Art

You can find a large collection of Harold Jones's papers and illustrations at Seven Stories. This is the National Centre for Children's Books in the UK. His family gave these items to the center in 2005. Other collections of his work are kept at the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection. This collection is located at the University of Southern Mississippi in the United States.

Books Written and Illustrated by Harold Jones

• The Visit to the Farm (1939)
• The Enchanted Night (1947)
• The Childhood of Jesus (1964)
• There and Back Again (1977)
• Tales from Aesop (1981)
• A Happy Christmas (1983)
• Tales to Tell (1984)

Books Illustrated by Harold Jones

• Mary Evelyn Atkinson – August Adventure (1936)
• Walter de la Mare – This Year, Next Year (1937)
• C.S. Lewis – Out of the Silent Planet (1938)
• M. E. Atkinson - The Compass Points North (1938)
• M. E. Atkinson - Crusoe Island (1941)
• M. E. Atkinson - Going Gangster (1942)
• John Pudney – Elegy for Tom Riding (1947)
• M. E. Atkinson - Smugglers' Gap (1947)
• Kathleen Lines – Four to Fourteen: A Library of Books for Children (1950)
• Kathleen Lines – Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes (1954)
• Kathleen Lines - Once in Royal David’s City: A Picture Book of the Nativity (1956)
• Henry A. Fagan - Ninya, A Fantasy of a Strange Little World (1956)
• Donald Suddaby – Prisoners of Saturn: An Interplanetary Adventure (1957)
• William Blake – Songs of Innocence (1958)
• Kathleen Lines – A Ring of Tales (1958)
• Elfrida Vipont – Bless This Day: A Book of Prayer for Children (1958)
• Kathleen Lines – Jack and the Beanstalk: A Book of Nursery Stories (1960)
• Kathleen Lines – Noah and the Ark (1961)
• Charles Kingsley – The Water Babies (text by Kathleen Lines) (1961)
• William Shakespeare – Songs from Shakespeare (1961)
• Robert Browning – The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1962)
• Five Little Pigs (Warren Editions, 1974)
• Lewis Carroll – The Hunting of the Snark (1975)
• Oscar Wilde – The Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde (1976)
• Paul Ries Collin - Calling Bridge (1976)
• Ruth Manning-Sanders – The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: Aesop’s Fable Retold (1977)
• Penelope Lively – The Voyage of QV66 (1978)
• Naomi Lewis – The Silent Playmate (or The Magic Doll) – A Collection of Doll Stories (1979)
• Harold Jacobs – Silver Bells and Cockle Shells: A Bunby Adventure (1979)