Bold artwork--with a charming retro feel. A young tiger sets out to explore and hunt, determined to catch things with stripes. A young leopard sets out to explore and hunt, determined to catch things with spots. And when the two cubs meet, their adventures more than double! In this delightful children's book, originally published in 1961, Dahlov Ipcar uses the playful cats to depict the exuberance of youth. And when danger looms, perhaps they are not as old or as brave as they think they are. Dahlov Ipcar's incomparable signature artwork has never looked bolder or brighter.

Dahlov Ipcar was born in Vermont, raised in Greenwich Village, and summered in Maine after her parents (the famed sculptor William Zorach and artist Marguerite Zorach) bought a farm there in 1923. Dahlov moved from New York City to the farm with her husband in 1937. Her children’s book career began in the early 1940s, when she illustrated The Little Fisherman by Margaret Wise Brown. This charming title helped launch a four-decade run that saw her write and illustrate more than thirty children’s books of her own. Today, her artwork is known worldwide. Dahlov Ipcar kept creating until her death in 2017, at age 99.

Carl Little is the author of many art books, including Edward Hopper’s New England, The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent, The Art of Francis Hamabe, and The Art of Dahlov Ipcar. His poetry has appeared in the Paris Review, Off the Coast, Hudson Review, Words & Images, and other journals and anthologies.

Stripes and Spots