About MA History of Design
Students on the V&A / RCA History of Design Postgraduate Programme can enrich their learning experience by contributing to live museum projects. In this series, we share some of the exciting discoveries made by students who helped to rehome the National Art Library’s large collection of children’s books when it moved to V&A Storehouse earlier this year.
Whether through classic folk tales, anthropomorphic animals or very hungry caterpillars, children’s books have often acquainted their young readers with the natural world.
This blog post spotlights a selection of the National Art Library’s books which, instead, introduce children to the modern, humanmade world. Technological and industrial changes are presented to children of varying ages through unlikely themes and eye-catching visuals.
I Can Read Difficult Worlds by Dick Bruna, 1977
Dutch author and designer Dick Bruna is perhaps more famous for his popular children’s character Miffy than he is for his drawings of machines and vehicles. Miffy’s original Dutch name, ‘Nijntje’, even translates to nature. I Can Read Difficult Words introduces very young readers to the pronunciation and spelling of everyday words such as ‘engine’ and ‘lorry’.
These simple yet bold and vibrant illustrations are in Bruna’s iconic style and the surrounding blank space leaves room for conversation and imagination.
Soy Una Gota by M.A. Pacheco and J.L Garcia Sanchez, 1979
Soy Una Gota, a Spanish-language book, asks children to imagine traversing different seasons and lands as a raindrop. After encountering children and indigenous communities in rural settings, the raindrop is abruptly confronted with the city – ‘¡UNA CIUDAD!’. Readers are taken underground, and the city’s complex network of pipes, mechanisms and sewage systems is revealed.
The story features visuals by Azun Balzola, who was well-known for her watercolour work. Nowhere is this technique more apt than in this flowing, watery tale which contrasts the bustling metropolis with the freedom of natural elements.
Rockets and Jets by Marie Neurath, 1951
Marie Neurath created books which educated young audiences through infographics. Alongside her husband Otto Neurath, she pioneered the pictorial language ISOTYPE (International System of Typographic Picture Education), which used symbols to explain statistics and processes.
In an era where international politics was turning toward the space race, Rockets and Jets explains the complexities of air and space travel through simplified diagrams and exciting cross-sections, showing the inner workings of these machines.
The Tower Block by Edwards and Floyd, 1969
Part of a wider series which imagines a typical, fictional British town named ‘Rilchester’, The Tower Block covers themes like population increase, social housing and the urbanisation of the 1960s and 1970s.
Similar titles in the Changing Scene series like The By-Pass or The New Town aimed to educate British schoolchildren on the modern world by encouraging them to ‘look about you, both in your hometown or village…you will find many things which will remind you of the places in this book’.
Gareth Floyd, a painter and children’s book illustrator, created the detailed pictures which contrast a historic Tudor village with the looming figure of the new tower block.
Car Smash by Katherine Milne, 1973
Aimed at young adult readers, this unique example of a book on road safety features detailed explanations of road accidents as well as photographs of car wrecks, injuries and even animal roadkill, creating a sense of threat and danger.
Often in gruesome and violent detail, the author’s imaginary scenarios ask readers their own opinions on a whole range of road safety topics such as speed limits, motorways and ambulances. The task-based activities suggest that Car Smash was likely used in an educational setting and is very different from what we might expect of learning materials in schools today.
To see what else V&A/RCA History of Design students have been up to, read our other blog posts or check our pages on the RCA website. You can even find out how to apply for 2026/2027 admission to MA V&A/RCA History of Design here.
