Lately, I’ve come across a bunch of art inspired by (or literally taken from) vintage children’s books. At the recent Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale, I, along with a pack of other people, was smitten by local artist Ashley Alexandar’s sweet-and-strange prints (top left); she knew we would be—her website is called imsmitten.com. Another Chicagoan whose paper goods possess a certain childhood nostalgia (some of the greeting cards and journals have illustrations taken directly from old children’s books) is Amy Rowan of Art School Girl; see her note cards and envelopes above. Finally, at Penelope’s in Wicker Park, I spotted Japanese artist Shinzi Katoh’s charming depictions of zoo animals, children, and woodland creatures.

—GINA BAZER