May Gibbs (1877-1969) Writer and Illustrator of Australian Children's book

May Gibbs was one of the few early illustrators and writers of children's books to use indigenous Australian bush images - both flora and fauna.

Her book 'Bib and Bub Their Adventures' resulted from the great success in the early 1920's of a weekly comic strip series of the same name that Gibbs produced for 'The Funnies' pages of 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.

What is characteristic and newish about these images is the use is a rough and rustic 'art nouveau' style, a style based on the forms of the natural world. It is less polished than the finish of the watercolour plates of her books.

The characters are various. There are anthropomorhized bush creatures - clothed and upright-walking lizards, ducks, snakes, crickets and so on. And completely floral creatures, such as the Big Bad Banksiamen - the most scary in her work, being, in their obvious aboriginality, a form of subliminal racism! With the only completely human beings here, the infants - gumnut babies and wattle babies. Though these tiny people wear clothing made of materials from the natural world - gumnut hats and wattle flower dresses. And are therefore the reverse of the bush creatures in their cloth bonnets, lace-up boots and so on.

The text accompanying many of the story frames is in rhyming couplets. In the same rustic style as the images. Rather than in the usual industrial print.

There is shade as well as light in these children's story books. The evils and dangers in life are also present, but are not necessarily eradicated in the approved manner of children's stories. They remain, to be wary of and work around, like the dangers of the real world.

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Film & Animation

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• May Gibbs

[ourDC888]

So beautiful, thank you!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ourDC888 - glad you liked it - i have such strong memories of my grandmother reading thses to me when i was 4 or 5 - and being terrified by the banksia men!

[nickwallacesmith]

yeah, they're great everywhere

and i have such intense chioldhood memories of the may gibbs illustrations

glad you liked the post

best, nick

[TimMillerTale]

We love the gumnut babies in L.A.!