Charley Harper’s Sticky Critters: An Animal Sticker Kit

Charley Harper’s Sticky Critters: An Animal Sticker Kit / ISBN 9780764963346 / published by Pomegranate and the Harper estate / the sticker kit includes 6 sheets of 170+ durable, reusable vinyl stickers / 1 double-sided 7 x 10 inch play-area board for arranging the stickers (they also stick to glass!), 1 booklet illustrating 12 finished creatures, with information about each one. Comes in a nice box.

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Anyone who likes animals and enjoys solving puzzles will love putting together the stickers in this kit to make 12 bright, funny creatures according to the illustrations in the booklet. But there’s no need to stop there: make up your own fantastical animals, using the various shapes for ears, legs, eyes, faces, tails . . . Sticky Critters has received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio’s Gold Seal Award, given to outstanding new products that enhance the lives of children.

Midcentury modernist Charley Harper (American, 1922–2007) portrayed the natural world with heart and humor. In vivid colors and simple shapes, his cardinals, ladybugs, and clever critters have become icons of wildlife art. His illustrations were published in magazines and books, notably Ford Times and The Giant Golden Book of Biology. A longtime conservationist, Harper created posters for more than 50 nature- and conservation-oriented organizations. His US National Park Service posters—massive, requiring a year each to paint—showcase delightful depictions of entire ecosystems in a style he defined as “minimal realism.” In his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, his public works are the legacy of an artist truly beguiled by the wild, one whose art was a quiet catalyst for ecological action.