The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss
(Random House, 1995)
A collection of unconstrained flights of fancy: art for art’s sake, featuring some of the characters that inhabited Geisel’s picture books, but presented in surreal (and often quite adult) Dalí-esque compositions — or sculptures! — owing no allegiance to storylines or considerations of audience.
Lester and the Unusual Pet
by Quentin Blake (Picture Lions, 1975)
Known for illustrating other people’s books (most notably Roald Dahl’s), Quentin Blake also writes many himself. Lester and the Unusual Pet showcases his understated absurdism — Salvador Dalí for children, almost — in a joyous, freewheeling, lazy afternoon paean to young imaginations running rife.