USPS Kid's Books Commemorative Stamps

Olivia is wonderful. She's sort of Eloise-ish. She's drawn by a frequent New Yorker contributor, who almost always uses black and white with a single color highlight, usually red, Ian Falconer.

Frederick is by Leo Lionni. He features in a couple of stories, I think, the best-known (or at least the one that comes to mind) being "Frederick". It's a rather mystical tale about a mouse named Frederick who prepares for the winter differently than his more practical brethren -- they collect wheat and such while he studies flowers and sunsets. They're annoyed, but then in the middle of winter, when they're bored to tears, he starts telling stories about all of the things he "collected", and he's such a skillful storyteller that they feel and see it all. It's about the importance of artistry and beauty amongst more mundane things.

Maisy is lovely. Sozlet was heavily into her from about 18 months to, well, we still read Maisy books but less. Very simple stories that have some sort of genuine/ interesting twist that I really like. Maisy is the main character -- she is very straightforward and commonsensical. Tallulah is her very girly chicken sidekick, Cyril is a plucky squirrel, Eddie the elephant and (forget the croc's name) round out the cast of characters. They do things like go to the fair, go to bed, have a party, make muffins, etc. Whole books for each subject. Much beloved of toddlers. (Maisy is a mouse, by the way.)

This gives a good flavor of Olivia (and also mentions Eloise):

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-10-06-olivia_x.htm

Soz--

Many thanks. I've added three authors to my Library Request List.

Interestingly enough, many of the books--published as long as 20 years ago--have waiting lists.