Beautiful Cosy Underground Scenes In Picture Books

Easy Answers to Hard Questions pictures by Susan Perl text by Susanne Kirtland (1968) where do animals go in the winter

Mole reached down a lantern from a nail on the wall and lit it, and the Rat, looking round him, saw that they were in a sort of fore-court. A garden-seat stood on one side of the door, and on the other a roller; for the Mole, who was a tidy animal when at home, could not stand having hiw ground kicked up by other animals into little runs that ended in earth heaps. On the walls hung wire baskets with ferns in them, alternating with brackets carrying plaster statuary — Garibaldi, and the infant Samuel and Queen Victoria, and other heroes of modern Italy. Down one side of the forecourt ran a skittle-alley, with benches along it and little wooden tables marked with rings that hinted at beer-mugs. In the middle was a small round pond containing goldfish and surrounded by a cockle-shell border. Out of the centre of the pond rose a fanciful erection clothed in more cockle-shells and topped by a large silvered glass ball that reflected everything all wrong and had a very pleasing effect.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. A description of Mole’s underground home. He returns after a long absence, and after a near death experience in the Wild Wood.
Sam And Dave Dig A Hole
By the italian illustrator Antonio Larocca. 1966
Russell and Lillian Hoban, illustration from The Mole Family’s Christmas, 1969
Art by Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008)
Fritz Baumgarten (german, 1883-1966) Seven dots 1954
Fritz Baumgarten (German, 1883-1966) Seven dots 1954
Anton Pieck
Fritz Baumgarten (1883-1966), illustrateur allemand. Hoppel und Poppel. Sometimes underground rooms still somehow manage to have a window with a sky view.
Fritz Baumgarten (1883-1966), illustrateur allemand. Hoppel und Poppel. Sometimes underground rooms still somehow manage to have a window with a sky view.
From the Big Goldenbook of Elves & Fairies, illustrated. by Garth Williams, 1951
From the Big Goldenbook of Elves & Fairies, illustrated. by Garth Williams, 1951
Illustration by Kawakami Shiro ( 川上四郎 絵) forKodomo no kuni (Children's Land), c1920s and 30s underground
Illustration by Kawakami Shiro ( 川上四郎 絵) forKodomo no kuni (Children’s Land), c1920s and 30s
Yuri Vasnetsov (Russian,1900-1973) - Sweet little sleeping mouse in his underground house
Yuri Vasnetsov (Russian,1900-1973) – Sweet little sleeping mouse in his underground house. Humans evolved from a mouse like creature who survived the dinosaur apocalypse due to its ability to hide out underground. This mouse is all of us.
Now That Days Are Colder by Aileen Fisher, Designed & Illustrated by Gordon Laite, Lettering by Paul Taylor (1973)
Al-Ket Wa La-Far 1928 Ahmad Najib (Arabic)-DeNoiseAI
Al-Ket Wa La-Far 1928 Ahmad Najib (Arabic)-DeNoiseAI
Clement Hurd, American (1908-1988) for Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, 1942
Clement Hurd, American (1908-1988) for Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, 1942
Ida Bohatta (1900 - 1992) Austria
Ida Bohatta (1900 – 1992) Austria

Fritz Baumgarten illustrated so many underground scenes I consider him a specialist in cosy animals living underground in picture books.

Fritz Baumgarten postcard
Fritz Baumgarten postcard
Fritz Baumgarten underground mice
Fritz Baumgarten (1883-1966) Illustration for an Easter book by Erich Heinemann
Fritz Baumgarten, 1979. Caption reads: Milly and Larry in their snug little house.
Marco Vaccari
Marco Vaccari
Anne of Green Gables illustration by Hanuol (Kim Ji Hyuck). "A Night Full of Stars" imagines a land below us equally bright and starlit as the world above.
Anne of Green Gables illustration by Hanuol (Kim Ji Hyuck). “A Night Full of Stars” imagines a land below us equally bright and starlit as the world above.
underground scene
The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Hoarde by Shannon Hale
The Whole World is My Burrow by Albert Ivanov illustrated by G. Zolotovskaya
The Whole World is My Burrow by Albert Ivanov illustrated by G. Zolotovskaya
Richard Scarry, The Golden Book
The Princess and the Goblin George MacDonald, art by Jessie Willcox Smith
The Princess and the Goblin George MacDonald, art by Jessie Willcox Smith
Harrison Cady (1877-1970)
Ernest Howard Shepard (1879-1976), British illustrator. The Wind in the Willows, 1931 edition.
Mabel Lucie Attwell – Peter Pan. Caption reads: The Home In The Ground.
Gong-Hon-Sheng Lunar-Month (Prints-from-Heilongjiang China) underground
Gong-Hon-Sheng Lunar-Month (Prints-from-Heilongjiang China) underground
The Story of the Root Children 1900s Picture book by artist Sibylle V Olfers
The Story of the Root Children 1900s Picture book by artist Sibylle V Olfers
The Story of the Root Children 1900s Picture book by artist Sibylle V Olfers
Illustration for HEDGEHOG’S HOME, ca.1949. Vilko Gliha Selan
Story Land (published by Paul Hamlyn, London 1960) mole Mary Blair who can live in a hole
Story Land (published by Paul Hamlyn, London 1960) mole Mary Blair who can live in a hole

Header illustration: Easy Answers to Hard Questions pictures by Susan Perl text by Susanne Kirtland (1968) Where do animals go in the winter?

CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

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