Available in Reprint
(Listed alphabetically by title)
Black and White
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1909263444
A little black dog and a little white dog were friends and they stayed together and played together all day long and each dreamed a dream when he fell asleep . . .
Two little dogs frolic and dream of adventures beyond their wildest imaginations, from jungles of the Congo with towering ebony elephants to the whitewashed, frigid arctic where the icy white polar bears roam. Dahlov Ipcar once again pairs her timeless illustrations with fresh original verse that celebrates the unity, wonder and beauty of the living, breathing natural world around us.
Bright Barnyard
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-1-60893-326-6
A young boy scatters golden kernels of corn to feed the birds of the barnyard, and watches in delight as the birds of the farm parade before him to get to their meal. From fat speckled hens, to drakes with black velvet heads, even his runaway white rabbits, they all join the feasting throng. The little calico cat watches the birds with hunger and fierce longing, but she knows the birds are off limits. The shifty brown rats she spies, however, are fair game!
Brown Cow Farm
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-0-89272-602-8
Welcome to Brown Cow Farm, an old Maine farm where the animals seem to appear faster than they can be counted. In her inimitable style, Dahlov Ipcar has created this charming counting book. Entering the big brown barn on a snowy day, children and parents alike can count aloud the animals they find there, from a big shiny brown horse to nine brown hens with zigzag combs. When springtime comes, watch out; that's when all the baby animals are born and we discover one of the unique features of this book: Unlike most counting books, which end at ten or twenty, Brown Cow Farm allows readers to count all the way to one hundred.
Bug City
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
North Atlantic Books (Penguin Random House)
ISBN: 978-1623173449
This charming bug family (Mama is a ladybug and Papa is a daddy longlegs) share a day in Bug City, where they go shopping (for calico moths and velvet ants, of course!) and visit the zoo with rhinoceros beetles and ant lions. Their quaint, busy lives, augmented by Dahlov Ipcar's flamboyant, colorful illustrations, make a charming story for readers to enjoy and learn how to identify a wide variety of bugs.
The Cat at Night
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Republished by Tilbury House Press in 2023
ISBN: 978-1-934031-23-0
Join the farmer's cat on his fascinating nighttime journey through fields, farms, forests and even the city to see what only he can see after the sun sets. Legendary artist Dahlov Ipcar mesmerizingly alternates between dark night scenes and vivid color to deliver a beautifully illustrated children's classic.
Deep Sea Farm
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-1-60893-317-4
Take a journey to the bottom of the sea with the gentle merman farmer who tends fanciful fields of sea cucumbers and sea beans with the help of his two seahorses. He must defend his cowfish and sea hens from fierce sea lions and tiger sharks, and free any sea creatures caught in traps or nets dropped from above. Legendary artist Dahlov Ipcar brings this enchanting undersea world to life with her vibrant illustrations and clever transformation of a traditional farmer’s tasks to a deep sea setting.
Horses of Long Ago
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-1608933235
From the first gawky little eohippus of 50 million years ago to his thoroughbred descendants of today, here
is a book about all kinds of horses—whether thundering into battle beneath an armor clad knight, prancing before carriages, plodding around cornfields pulling plows, or racing for kings, they spring to life on every page.
This is also a picturesque and unique glimpse into history, for horses have been valued and used by men as far apart in space as the Samurai of Japan to the farmers of France, as distant in time as ancient Egyptian charioteers and American cowboys.
I Like Animals
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1909263253
Every child loves animals. At some point, all of us have wished for our own zoo filled with beasts and birds; a pet shop with cats, dogs and fish in every shape and colour; a cabin in the woods to spy on brown bears and wild wolves, and a ranch with mustangs to race across the plains! Here’s a book for every animal lover.
The Little Fisherman
Written by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-944762-15-5
“Once there was a great big fisherman and a little fisherman… They sailed boats.” So begins the classic story by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar. The book follows the two fisherman through a day in their life at sea, the big fisherman with his big boat, big fish, and big sailors, and the little fisherman with his little boat, little fish, little sailors–and a big story.
Lobsterman
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-0-89272-032-3
Lobsterman tells the story of a day in the life of a lobsterman's son, working alongside his father. In acclaimed artist Dahlov Ipcar's signature style, it portrays a major lifeway of the Maine coast and is a classic staple of Maine children's literature.
Wild and Tame Animals
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1909263642
Long, long ago all animals in the world were wild. Some were timid and hid in the woods, and some were ferocious and dangerous.
And so begins a journey of discovery as Dahlov Ipcar presents a wealth of feral and fierce animals trained by our early ancestors to the tame animals we know today.
The Wonderful Egg
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Flying Eye Books
ISBN: 978-1909263284
Long, long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, one wonderful egg sat all alone in a blue-green mossy nest at the base of a giant fern tree.
But whose egg was it? And where did it come from?
Dahlov Ipcar takes us back to a prehistoric world, teeming with creatures that soar, swim and thunder through the green jungle world.
World Full of Horses
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books (Rowman & Littlefield)
ISBN: 978-1608933143
When grandfather was a little boy, the world was full of horses: pulling fancy carriages, galloping in front of a stage coach and charging into battle. But to keep you from feeling sad because the world is no longer full of horses, Dahlov Ipcar also shows you where they are this minute—because people
love them. They can be found in the West being ridden by cowboys, on racetracks being ridden by jockeys and even on merry-go-rounds being ridden by kids like you!
Out of Print
Children’s Books
(Listed by name)
A Flood of Creatures
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Holiday House
ISBN: 978-0823402243
An old lady who doesn't care for company suddenly finds her house invaded by a little boy and various barnyard animals trying to escape the flood outside. But when the time comes for rescue, the old lady learns a truth about herself.
Animal Hide and Seek
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-80-3
Sometimes, you need to know what to look for in order to see an animal, even if it's hiding in plain sight! In Animal Hide and Seek, author and artist Dahlov Ipcar first offers young readers portraits of woodland animals and then, on the companion page, sets the animal into its natural setting, camouflaged for the careful reader to find. Gentle prose describes the animals and their habits, from deer to rabbits, from squirrels to salamanders. This book, first published in 1947, was Ipcar's first authored title. It has now been wonderfully restored and reissued to showcase Ipcar's crisp colors and bold lines.
The Biggest Fish in the Sea
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Viking Juvenile
ISBN: 978-0670165414
Tino, determined to catch the biggest fish in the sea, throws back a succession of larger and larger fish until an "enormous tremendous gigantic" fish avows that he is the biggest.
But instead of submitting to display, the fish opens its mouth and swallows not only Tino but the whole town with its houses and people "and a big chunk of the land too," only letting them go after they promise "never to catch a fish again except to eat."
The Calico Jungle
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-31-5
A mother gives her little boy a handmade quilt, but it's more than just a quilt. It's a whole world where fantastical animals run, hide, swim, and frolic in a calico jungle. The boy enters this wild landscape and travels through it. He spies calico birds pecking at fruits, sees calico elephants giving each other shower baths, discovers spotted horses, striped lions, and calico fish shining like jewels.
As he nears the far side of the quilt, the animals he encounters are curled up asleep. The boy grows sleepy, too. His eyes close and he dreams that he is "walking through the calico jungle, under the flowering trees, where all the strange and wonderful animals lived."
The Cat Came Back
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
A. A. Knopf
ISBN: 978-0394822914
This beautifully illustrated picture book, inspired by a fanciful folksong of the same name, tells the story of a tenacious but unwanted cat, who overcomes every attempt to get rid of her and always manages to return safely home.
Dahlov Ipcar's Maine Alphabet
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Board Book, Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-87-2
From harbors and islands to deer and moose, Dahlov Ipcar's Maine Alphabet covers her entire home state of Maine, showcasing her bold, striking signature illustrations of wildlife and coastal scenes. This book is near and dear to Ipcar's heart, serving as a kind of love letter to her home state where she has lived and worked for almost 75 years. Her affection for Maine rings true in each letter, from "A is for animals, wild and free," to W, "for woodlands of wonder for you and for me." In the last illustration, which the 94-year-old artist did especially for this edition, she invites young readers to "Walk in my woods and you will see / X, Y and Z high in a tree."
Maine Alphabet contains illustrations from twelve of Ipcar's previous children's books, most of which are out of print, as well as one original piece. This alphabet book is sure to become a classic, a must-have for any Maine child's bookshelf!
Dahlov Ipcar's Farmyard Alphabet
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Board Book, Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-87-2
Dahlov Ipcar's Farmyard Alphabet is Maine artist and author Dahlov Ipcar's first board book, pairing her fresh, original verses with timeless illustrations from eleven of her books, many of which are out of print. From apples and barns to vegetables and wood stoves, both the unique text and bold, bright artwork celebrate farm life in Ipcar's inimitable style. Strong proud horses, fat happy pigs and playful kittens will charm toddlers, and Ipcar fans will be delighted to see illustrations from The Wild Whirlwind, Bright Barnyard and Black and White, as well as those from eight other books.
Bronze Medal, Board Book, 2011 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award
Honorable Mention, Best Children’s Book, 2011 Maine Literary Award
Dahlov Ipcar's Farmyard Numbers
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Board Book, Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-939017-01-7
An all-new board book with charming rhymes (Five hens call their chicks to eat. “Come try the corn. It tastes so sweet!”) makes this an interactive book for parents and caregivers to share with young readers. Search for animals, introduce numbers, create stories around the scenes, and more in this board book that uses illustrations from Ipcar’s most popular books, including The Cat at Night,Hardscrabble Harvest, One Horse Farm, and more.
Dahlov Ipcar's Wild Animal Alphabet
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Board Book, Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-58-2
The second board book from Maine artist Dahlov Ipcar, following Dahlov Ipcar's Farmyard Alphabet, draws on illustrations from ten of Ipcar's previous children's books, most of which are out of print, as well as some of her fine art paintings. Her original rhyming couplets take readers on a fantastic trip from antelopes to tigers all the way to "Z is for Zebra, who always comes last."
Hardscrabble Harvest
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-24-7
"The farmer plants
early in the spring.
He'll be lucky
if he harvests a thing!"
So begins this charming story in verse about the running battle between a farm family and the mischievous animals that plunder their fields. Crows peck at freshly sown seeds, ducks eat new strawberry plants, rabbits nibble on tender lettuces, and raccoons dine on ears of ripening corn. All summer long the young farmer and his wife are hard-pressed to protect their growing crops.
But autumn comes at last, and the family is ready to celebrate its harvest – bushels of red tomatoes, a cellar full of apples for cider and pumpkins for pie. In rollicking verse and wonderful illustrations, Dahlov Ipcar tells of all the hard work that goes into making a bountiful fall harvest.
I Love My Anteater With an A
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Down East Books
ISBN: 978-1608934225
An alphabet book based on a children’s sidewalk game where each letter gives an animal, reasons for hating and loving him, his name, the place he comes from, what he lives on, and what his occupation is, all beginning with the same letter.
The Land of Flowers
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Viking Juvenile
ASIN: B01071X152
Ipcar's bold design and unmodulated colors work well in this uncomplicated fantasy about two lambs–one black and one white–who ignore their mothers' calls to go home at the end of the day and instead gallop over a rainbow bridge and into a land of giant flowers and butterflies.
Lost and Found: A Hidden Animal Book
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Doubleday & Company Inc
ISBN: 978-0385151702
The narrator looks for her pets which are hiding right under her nose. A fanciful study in camouflage. But will the young reader find them first?
The Marvelous Merry-Go-Round
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Doubleday & Company Inc
ASIN: B0006C55WU
Take a man who carves merry-go-round horses, tweak his imagination (after the visit of an exotic circus) to include lions and leopards, camels and giraffes, a kangaroo and an ostrich–remembering always that you're dealing in Dahlov Ipcar's festive pictures–and you don't need a plot...
My Wonderful Christmas Tree
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-22-3
From the snowy, wintery window of her art studio, Dahlov Ipcar sees a wild and wondrous world. With vivid imagination and vibrant colors, she captures a lively part of the Christmas season at her farm in Maine. From one shining star that graces the top of a living outdoor tree, she envisions many captivating creatures of the field and forest who come to visit.
From young black bears to snowy owls, from evening grosbeaks to happy chipmunks, this book presents a lively panorama of wild creatures she has seen and enjoyed. My Wonderful Christmas Tree by the legendary Dahlov Ipcar is a holiday classic that conveys the feeling of the Christmas season outdoors in New England.
One Horse Farm
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-39-1
A baby and a foal are born on the farm, on the very same day. Together Johnny and Big Betty grow up learning to work through all the farm's seasons, planting, plowing, mowing, cow herding, and ice cutting.
But Betty grows quickly and Johnny grows slowly. By the time Johnny is a big man, Betty is an old horse. When Johnny realizes it's time to replace Betty with a tractor, he must decided what to do with his beloved horse.
First published in 1950, tells the story of a boy and a horse who grow up together on a farm and watch the world change around them. It's a book that comes from the heart for legendary Maine artist Dahlov Ipcar, who lived on a farm in Georgetown, Maine, for more than 70 years. "It was the life I lived," she said.
Sir Addlepate and the Unicorn
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Doubleday & Company Inc
ASIN: B0006CKGE2
Determined to find an unicorn for his lady but armed with an inaccurate description of the beast, a knight mistakenly brings back a baby rhinoceros with predictable results.
The Song of the Day Birds and the Night Birds
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Doubleday & Company Inc
ASIN: B0006BQ4HG
Sprinkled with original poetry and fanciful illustrations, Song of the Day Birds & The Night Birds is a “go to” choice for an easy bedtime read.
Stripes and Spots
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
Islandport Press
ISBN: 978-1-934031-70-4
A young tiger sets out on his own to explore and hunt, determined to catch things with stripes. A young leopard sets out on his own to explore and hunt, determined to catch things with spots. And when the two youngsters meet, their adventures more than double!
In this delightful children's book, originally published in 1961, Dahlov Ipcar uses the playful cats to depict the exuberance and innocence of youth. And when danger looms, perhaps they are not as old or as brave as they think they are. Ipcar's incomparable signature artwork has never looked bolder or brighter.
Ten Big Farms
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
A. A. Knopf
ASIN: B0006AUXOW
The Jordan family was tired of the city. But which kind of farm in the country should they buy? They take a trip across the U.S.A. to visit 10 big farms. They visit a poultry farm, a fruit farm, a horse farm, a tobacco farm, a dairy farm and a cattle farm, a pig farm, a wheat farm and a sheep farm as well as a truck farm. Their final selection comes as a surprise.
The author-artist makes distinguished use of repetition and contrast in pictures and border designs of a calibre so original, so creative that one is compelled to the same predicament as the Jordans–which farm to take?
Whispering and Other Things
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
A. A. Knopf
ASIN: B0006BQKWA
Original poetry and and fanciful illustrations will delight the younger reader.
The Wild Whirlwind
Written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar
A. A. Knopf
ISBN: 978-0394807782
Mr. Red has everything red–beard, shirt, barn, even his animals. One night a whirlwind mixes everything up and Mr. Red finds animals with coats of many colors–white, gray, black and gold–instead of red. He parades them to Mr. White's where he exchanges his whites for gold, then repeats the procedure at Mr. Gray's and Mr. Black's. Who wants all gold animals? Will he find his red animals at long last?
Young Adult Novels
(Listed by name)
A Dark Horn Blowing
Written by Dahlov Ipcar
Viking Juvenile
ISBN: 978-0670256594
A woman named Nora is spirited away from her family to raise the sickly heir of the evil Erl King in this dark fantasy. Captive in the castle, Nora turns for help to the young prince she has raised, who possesses developing magic powers.
General Felice
Written by Dahlov Ipcar
McGraw-Hill
ASIN: B0006BRF3I
When Celeste Webster’s parents leave for a summer in Europe, they invite her new classmate, Felice Fernay, to spend the summer with their daughter. The farm, once a playground for Celeste, has now become a battleground; for the unfeeling Hodge family has taken over the caretaker’s cottage on the hill and they are interested only in the practical animals such as pigs and chickens. The Hodges ruthlessly destroy the beauty of the farm -- and worst of all, send the girls’ horses to a far pasture.
The girls determine to rid the farm of these “monsters.” And it is Felice, with the straggling hair and strange light-colored eyes, who acts as general in their relentless “war against oppression”
The Nightmare and Her Foal: and Other Stories
Written by Dahlov Ipcar
North Country Press
ISBN: 978-0945980247
Here is a collection of sixteen memorable stories of nightmare and fantasy for adults, written and illustrated by noted children's author and artist Dahlov Ipcar. Some of these stories will chill you, some will amuse you and some will touch your heart. All of them, however, bear the mark of one of the most imaginative authors and artists of our time.
The Queen of Spells
Written by Dahlov Ipcar
Viking Juvenile
ISBN: 978-0670583997
The bonny "Heir of Linne," who was spirited away by the Queen of Spells in 1558, is allowed a brief return to earth in 1858 where the fair rose lady of the ballad of "Tam Lin"–green-kirtled Janet with the milk white steed–appears in the person of a Pennsylvania farmer's daughter.
Janet first meets the wayward bandit Tom Linn at age eleven, when he promises to return in seven days to marry her. At age 18, finding herself pregnant after a second meeting, Janet determines to rescue her ghostly lover and, on Halloween night, swims a churning river to a land beyond reality where she sees the Black Riders of Hell, watches skeletal Mr. La Mort perform in the Circus of Fear, and faces down the Queen of Spells herself.
The Warlock of the Night
Written by Dahlov Ipcar
Viking Juvenile
ISBN: 978-0670749911
As an apprentice to the black sorcerer, the Warlock of Night, Ploy had studied the ancient disciplines and the dark sciences. But war taught Ploy lessons that books could not. And the roving iconoclast Magaw taught him what the Warlock could not. But it was not until Ploy penetrated the enemy lines and breached the “Great White Fortress” itself that he learned war’s most terrible truth.
Readers who know the game of chess will take pleasure in Dahlov Ipcar’s brilliantly conceived saga, a saga based on a game played in 1949 between two International Chessmasters—where every chapter represents an actual move.