When road tripping I like to take many stops along the way, if I’m not in a rush to be at the destination. On this trip back to the states, I was in no hurry. Our first pit stop was in Abilene, Texas. While researching places we could stop one point of interest caught my attention, especially when thinking of my English summer camp itinerary. That place is the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. What? A place all about children’s book art! Perfect for a group of kids learning English. So, we stopped in Abilene for a couple of hours.
Driving through town to find the museum, we saw several sculptures of storybook characters. We later learned that each year the city hosts a storybook festival and adds new sculptures of characters to its city streets and parks. There are sculptures of Dr. Seuss characters, the Guardians of Childhood series, David and Fergus, among others.
The Center
The NCCIL (pronounced nickel) is a small space with a decent size gallery. It rotates exhibits of children’s book illustrated art. When we visited the exhibit featured Mark Teague’s work. Original artwork from the books is displayed and copies of the books help visitors see how it goes from art to a book. I only wish there were more benches to sit and read the books, especially when visiting with a child, my niece.
Neighboring the gallery is an activity space where the center invites kids to be creative. This space is open on weekends, and the activities correspond to the exhibition next door. A small book shop completes the center.
My wheels were spinning in high gear for my summer camp. I’ve added the NCCIL to our itinerary and will plan special activities to prepare for next summer’s exhibit of Garth Williams’ work from Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.
