Cats, Dogs, Men, Women, Ninnies & Clowns: The Lost Art of William Steig

A treasure trove of hundreds of previously unpublished illustrations by children’s book icon Steig, this compendium is organized thematically (people, dogs, “odd ducks,” etc.); the late Steig’s wife, Jeanne, introduces each section with delightful, insightful anecdotes. “He used to refer to us fondly as ‘a couple of cats,’ or perhaps more romantically as ‘two rolls on a plate,’ ” she writes. Of course, the best sense of the man behind Shrek!, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and other favorites is gained from the strange, free, and wholly original artwork that fill the pages with caricatured portraits, animals a’courting, drunken clowns, knife fights, and creatures impossible to name. Taken as a whole, the glorious lunacy is testimony to a true iconoclast. (Sept.)