Artist #1: Cooper Edens

From “Caretakers of Wonder” by Cooper Edens Cooper Edens is a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is a contemporary illustrator who published his first book around 1970. Edens has written and illustrated many of this own books and done illustration work on some of other people's books. “If you have butterflies in your stomach…ask them into your heart.” -from If You’re Afraid of the Dark by Cooper Edens. 1979. The only book of his that I have read is If You're Afraid of the Dark. I have memories of taking this off of my mother's shelf when I was young and enjoying the pictures. I also came to enjoy the writing just as much now that I'm older and it carries special meaning to me. Especially as someone who writes poetry, I would love to have my own published along with my own illustrations! If You’re Afraid of the Dark (cover) by Cooper Edens. 1979 The illustrations by Cooper Edens in If You're Afraid of the Dark have a distinct style. They appear as paper cutouts and collage images. Each image seems to share the quirky fantastical style that Cooper Edens' writing has. The imagery is fun and playful and has a vintage style. “If you find your socks don’t match… stand in a flowerbed.”  -from If You’re Afraid of the Dark by Cooper Edens. 1979.