Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal
"'You know what would be awesome?  A print version of Jim's Red Book.'  That's what we all said, and that's just about what Karen Falk and the Jim Henson Company gave us.  It's a huge book, chock-full of new stories, artwork, photos, and more surrounding Jim's life.  It's a gorgeous book, and we hear it's only the tip of the Henson Archives iceberg.  So now we're all saying, 'You know what would be awesome?  Volume 2.' "--ToughPigs.com"Usually I recommend these "Art of" books because - let's face it - even if the movie is no-good, the pre-vis and character designs are usually fantastic. Wreck-It Ralph is not only a great little film, but the artwork is especially fun. Director Rich Moore assembled a hand-picked crew of cartoonists to inspire the look of the film and they did not fail. No wonder the stuff on the screen looks so good - the preliminary art pictured here shows he had a lot of quality to choose from. Mike Gabriel, Jin Kim, Bill Schwab, Lorelay Bove, Glen Keane, and Minkyu Lee are just a few of the artists supplying the eye candy here, providing the appropriate "sugar rush" you require. This is a good one."-CartoonBrew.com"This heavily illustrated book, compiled by Karen Falk, is a colorful, creative scrapbook filled with Henson's personal photos, sketches, jotted notes, press clippings and more. It's the fascinating chronicle of an artist whose imaginative reach was not limited to his most beloved invention, the Muppets.""That's exactly what Imagination Illustrated is: a gift to the Muppet fans. The book is meticulously planned, brilliantly organized, and incredible to pore through again and again...Karen Falk'sImagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journalis a must-own treasure if you're a Muppet fan."--The Muppet Mindset"See if you can crack the spine on Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal by Karen Falk without that song rolling through your mind. It seems to emanate from the pages of this raucous-looking book-a tonal match to the color and controlled chaos JimHenson's puppets embodied. Anyone who visited last year's "Jim Henson's FantasticWorld" exhibit at theMuseumof Science and Industry will enjoy this book. It spans Henson's career, from quirky college productions through goofball TV commercials, through theMuppets and Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock to his unexpected death at age 53 in 1990. It features sketches, footnoted scripts and lots of pictures. His playful work made adults and children smile; this book will too."-Chicago Tribune [gift guide pick]"Now this is super cool. Jim Henson kept a diary throughout his career and this book is a collection of Henson's own words, rare sketches, personal photos and much more. Any book that celebrates the genius of Jim Henson is an automatic buy for me. "Ain't It Cool News"Meticulously annotated and lovingly compiled, Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal is at once an invaluable record of modern creative history and an affectionate celebration of Henson's legacy and magic."Brain Pickings"It's a rare gift to peer into the mind of a genius, but that's exactly the gift thatImagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journalpresents. Using as its base the journal Henson kept for over 20 years, it illustrates his entries with design artwork, photos, and more. A wonderful, wondrous tome."- A Site Called Fred"Imagine flipping through Jim Henson's journals filled with doodles, notes and photographs he used to illustrate major life and work events. Writer Karen Falk combined Henson's journal excerpts with unproduced material to show the evolution of Kermit and the wellsprings of Henson's creativity and inspiration" -Cleveland Plain Dealer"If you thought the Muppets appeared out of nowhere, fully formed and ready to rock, you are sorely mistaken. They, of course, were the brain child of the late, great visionary, Jim Henson. A new book entitled Imagination Illustrated  written by Jim Henson Company archives director Karen Falk with a foreword by Henson's daughter Lisa, combines passages from the Muppet maestro's own diary, which he kept through his whole career, with sketches, storyboards, photographs and other visual material to enlighten readers on the early days of the genius' work. Specifically adorable are early drawings of Kermit and which are like seeing photos of your friends from elementary school, if they were frogs."Nerdist News"Anyone whose formative childhood years happened during the 1970s and '80s owes a great deal to Mr. Jim Henson, the puppeteering genius behind The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, and Labyrinth, amongst other creative endeavors. Throughout his iconic career, Henson kept a detailed, honest journal, and, finally, it's now available for fans and historians alike in the form of Imagination Illustrated, taken directly from The Jim Henson Company archives. As visually driven as it is narratively charged, the gorgeous 192-page book also includes tons of never-before-seen sketches, storyboards, and on-set pictures."--Complex.com