Not sure. I'm a mixture of the two. For the Find Outers the first illustrations I came across were by Mary Gernat...and I do prefer them to Rodney Sutton or Jenny Chapple...but I still prefer Lilian Buchanan and Treyr Evans over Mary Gernat.Daisy wrote:I think it is entirely understandable that we like best the illustrations we first meet. We identify with them and it takes quite a shift of mind, to feel that (in my case) later illustrations are in any way a true representation of the characters. In the case of the Find-Outers, however, that is a bit different, but perhaps fortunately for me, I didn't take too much notice of the illustrations as a child. I'm not sure that I even noticed the difference between them back then! Of course we didn't have the opportunity to read a complete series in succession when they were first published, so the impact would be negligible I think.
With the Famous Five, the first versions I came across were in the Famous Five annuals of the 1970's - but I prefer the Eileen Soper depictions, even though I still have a very soft spot for the early annuals.
Faraway Tree - for me its Rene Cloke every time - the first illustrator I came across.
Same for Secret Seven - Derek Lucas illustrations are the 'real deal' for me. Whenever I drew pictures of The Secret Seven or Faraway Tree characters when I was young I always copied Cloke and Lucas.
Then again, Stuart Tresilian and Gilbert Dunlop are two illustrators I have always loved - because the Adventure and Barney books were never illustrated by anyone else while I was growing up - and I still love them today.