Studying the wonderful Scarry illustrations in The Animals’ Merry Christmas is one of my favorite childhood holiday memories. I seem to remember every picture vividly; so much so that Kathryn Jackson’s accompanying stories are a blur. There was a story about a polar bear who had to shave his coat and wear red long underwear, another one about a slowly deteriorating stuffed sheep. That’s about it. The copy in our family was a ’70s reprint, but I was surprised to find that the book actually dates from 1950! Maybe that explains why Scarry’s art touched me so much. I coudn’t find any examples from the book online, but Eric Sturdevant’s groovy Old Childrens Books flickr set contains art that conveys a similar look.