Henson's fabled little red book was the backbone of Karen Falk's 2012 book Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated, although her book offered a lot more than those excerpts. That's probably a good thing since the average journal entry tended to be no more involved than "Oct 29- Tonight Show, Beautiful Day." Henson didn't seem to work out his ideas very elaborately in his little book either. So Falk supplemented the excerpts with more extensive biographical details, to put the artist's wispy jottings into context, and a wealth of additional art material. There are cartoons and book covers and storyboards and character sketches. And not all of this is Henson's work. There's a terrific cartoon by Carroll "Big Bird" Spinney and a typically fabulous illustration of Henson's creations by the great cartoonist Jack Davis and several gorgeous works by Brian Froud, the fantasy artist who brought The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth to life.
As a tie-in with Ron Howard's new documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man, Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated is now being reprinted with a new foreword by Howard. The foreword is too slight to recommend a rebuy, but if you're a Henson fan who doesn't already have Imagination Illustrated in your library, now would be a good time to snatch one up.
