Recently I’ve been taking a closer look at some children’s book illustrations from the “golden age.” I just stumbled upon a children’s book called “Through the Church Door” that was originally published in the mid-20s. It contains a number of black and white line drawings of children experiencing the life of the church (Anglican), as well as other childhood scenes that serve as a kind of life application of the faith.

Ignoring the text, which is largely very bad, I found the drawings to be very interesting. I’ve been planning out a similar kind of project myself, including a very similar style and subject matter– though with a completely different sort of text. What’s interesting for Lutherans is that quite a lot of the images focus on liturgical church life in a way that would be equally accessible to our tradition. Consider especially the images of the child examining the baptismal font, giving an offering, kneeling in church; or the way the dress of the ministers is depicted, for example.

Do these images appeal to your inner child, or does their idyllic/idealistic/stylized nature seem more consistent with the heavily pietistic text in the book? Personally I can’t help but be drawn to them. I find the style very charming, more attractive than cartoony kids’ drawings.

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