Merry Go Round

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. First edition of Crockett Johnson's ingenious picture book, which captures a merry go round ride from a child's perspective. The little boy on his white horse remains in exactly the same position on each page, while the changing background conveys the motion of the ride: past the rowboats on the lake, past a woman reading on a bench, past the bears and chimpanzees and giraffes at the zoo, past the balloon man and the sea lions, past the greenhouse and an equestrian statue, past the boy's own impatient parents, and finally past the merry go round attendant, who has fallen asleep on the job. Best remembered for Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) and its sequels, Crockett Johnson was a prolific writer and illustrator of children's books, sometimes in collaboration with his wife Ruth Krauss: Merry Go Round is one of his scarcer titles. A fine copy. Single volume, measuring 9 x 7 inches: [12]. Color illustrations and text to recto of each page, publication information to verso of first page, all pages spiral-bound at top. (Inventory #: 1004028)