Joan Kiddell-Monroe (1908–1972) was a British writer and illustrator of children's books, particularly notable for her folk-tale illustrations.

Biography

Joan Kiddell-Monroe was born on August 9, 1908, in

Clacton-on-Sea Clacton-on-Sea is a seaside town in the Tendring District in the county of Essex, England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District with a population of 56,874 (2016). The town is situated a ...

, England. She studied at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

and worked in advertising for a while before becoming a freelance artist. In the late 1930s she married Webster Murray, a Canadian-illustrator who died in 1957. Before the war she travelled in Africa with him and after his death returned there with her son. She lived the later years of her life in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

where she died in 1972.

Artwork

Joan Kiddell-Monroe is best known for her book illustrations, and was a prolific illustrator between the 1940s and 1960s. Her work often deals with animals and life overseas, particularly in Africa. She illustrated the Oxford Myths and Legends series for the

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, which includes legends and folk-tales from China,

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, the West Indies and many other places. She illustrated a number of

Patricia Lynch Patricia Lynch (4 June 1894– 1 September 1972) was an Irish children's writer and a journalist. She was the author of some 48 novels and 200 short stories. She is best known for blending Irish rural life and fantasy fiction as in ''The Turf-Cu ...

's Irish books including ''Long Ears'' and ''Orla of Burren''. Joan illustrated all six books of the

Ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

series of ''The Adventures of Wonk'' about a

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

. Four of her own ''In His Little Black Waistcoat'' stories for children feature a

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...

as the hero. Her work was also commissioned and/or reproduced in the

New Zealand School Journal The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for children. Since 2013 it has been pub ...

(NZ Department of Education) in the 1950s. She used various styles and media, including

scraperboard Scratchboard (North America and Australia) or scraperboard (Great Britain), is a form of direct engraving where the artist scratches off dark ink to reveal a white or colored layer beneath. Scratchboard refers to both a fine-art medium, and ...

wash WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...

and

pen and ink A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

. For her version of ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' (Dent, 1951), she used a formal decorative treatment, while the ''

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

'', (Blackwell, 1972) was illustrated in vivid, flat colours.

Selected works

Illustrations for works by other authors

, ''Long Ears'' (Dent, 1943) * David Severn, ''Waggon for Five'' (Bodley Head, 1944) * David Severn, ''Hermit in the Hills'' (Bodley Head, 1945) *

Pearl Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck ...

, ''The Dragon Fish'' (Methuen, 1946) * Dorothy Martin, ''Munya the Lion'' (OUP, 1946) * David Severn, ''Forest Holiday'' (Bodley Head, 1946) * David Severn, ''Ponies and Poachers'' (Bodley Head, 1947) * David Severn, ''The Cruise of the Maiden Castle'' (Bodley Head, 1948) * Muriel Levy, ''The Adventures of Wonk - The Snowman & Kidnapped (Ladybird Book)'' (Wills & Hepworth, 1948) * Ruth W. How, ''Adventures at Friendly Farm'' (Hollis and Carter, 1948) * Sylvia Leith-Ross, ''Beyond the Niger'' (Lutterworth Press, 1951) *

Malcolm Saville Leonard Malcolm Saville (21 February 1901–30 June 1982)
Retrieved 16 July 2016 was an English writer best known for the ...

, ''All Summer Through'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1951) * Elizabeth Coatsworth, ''The Enchanted'' (Dent, 1952) * Eileen, O'Faolain, ''Irish Sagas and Folk-Tales'' (OUP, 1954) *

Mary Elwyn Patchett Mary Elwyn Patchett (2 December 1897 – 1989) was an Australian writer of children's literature, beautician and dietitian. She was considered to be a pioneer of children's science fiction and the most widely-read Australian children's author of ...

, ''Tam the Untamed'' (Lutterworth Press, 1955) * J. M. Scott, ''White Magic'' (Methuen, 1955) * Reginald Forbes-Watson, ''Shifta!'' (OUP, 1958) *H. W. Longfellow, ''The Song of Hiawatha'' (J. M. Dent and Sons, 1960) * Eugenie Fenton, ''Sher, Lord of the Jungle'' (Benn, 1962) * Frederick Grice, ''The Moving Finger'' (OUP, 1962) * Ivan Southall, ''The Sword of Essau'' (Angus and Robertson, 1967) * Ivan Southall, ''The Curse of Cain'' (Angus and Robertson, 1968) * Rene Guillot, ''Grishka and the Bear'' (OUP, 1970) * Lorna Wood, ''Hags by Starlight'' (Dent, 1970)

Written and illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe

* ''The Irresponsible Goat'' (Methuen, 1948) * ''In his Little Black Waistcoat to India'' (Longmans, 1948)

References

External links

Wee Web Profile

Forgotten Illustrator: Joan Kiddell-Monroe
with images of many illustrations (retrieved 1 January 2014)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiddell-Monroe, Joan 1908 births 1972 deaths British illustrators British children's book illustrators British women illustrators 20th-century illustrators of fairy tales People from Clacton-on-Sea