Exploring the Great Outdoors: Sports and Recreation in Original Illustrations from Children’s Books

Exploring the Great Outdoors was the third in a series of exhibitions based on children’s book illustrations. This exhibition encouraged reading and a love for the outdoors and included eighty illustrations by various illustrators such as Barbara Cooney, Palmer Cox, Tomie de Paola, Ruth Heller, Syd Hoff, William Joyce, Betsy & Ted Lewin, and David Wiesner. The exhibition also included works by international illustrators from Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, Sweden, and Thailand.

Artworks were drawn from the De Grummond Collection, the Gladys English Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library, the Kerlan Collection, the Mazza Museum, and the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature. Major sponsorship was provided by The General Mills Foundation, The Toys "R" Us Children's Fund, Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, The Dominick Limited Partnership, and The William H. Frist Family Foundation.

Other installments of this children’s book series include A Carnival of Animals, This is Our Land, and Once Upon a Page.

Please visit the exhibition website for more information.