As for the graphic works, the reproduction seems to be from 35 mm (or possibly 2 1/4 in.) photographic negatives rather than the 4 x 5 in. or larger negatives more common to art books from this publisher. A certain less-than-distinct quality of line is the unfortunate result. Having said that, however, the stuff itself is fascinating to browse through or study. We see the work (after the ambitious juvenilia) of a busy artist/performer with a focus on basic design and an evident reluctance to use an eraser -- he's too busy! Too busy to draw? What could he possibly be doing with his time? Building puppets, building a staff, building a business? Building a career? Building a fortune? Building a legend?

As a matter of fact, yes to all of these.

And it's because Jim Henson succeeded in all of those goals that this artwork is as fascinating as it is. We behold nascent doodles, which have transmogrified themselves into icons; subconscious scribbles, which have transformed themselves into universally recognizable images. One might as logically criticize such drawings for being hasty or unimpressive as one might criticize a manuscript score by Mozart for exhibiting poor penmanship. Irrelevant, immaterial.

This book invariably shows up in the animation section of bookstores. In the public's mind, or at least in the minds of bookstore employees, Jim Henson appears to be considered an animator. Jim Henson's studio was responsible for several Emmy-award-winning animated series (primarily The Muppet Babies), but in the basic sense of the word Jim Henson and his Muppeteers were animators. They gave life to rags, foam, hunks of fur and a multitude of unblinking hemispheric ping-pong balls.

It could have been a coffee-table book. It should have been a coffee-table book. But it's what we've got and it's all we've got. And at this non-coffee-table-book price, it's worth getting.

Jim Henson's Designs And Doodles: A Muppet Sketchbook by Alison Inches. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001. 128 pages. ISBN: 0-8109-3240-7. (Hardback, US$24.95)

Will Ryan was a writer/producer of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss for Jim Henson Productions. He received Emmy and Writer's Guild award nominations for his work on the series. Among his current projects is the Annie Award-winning series Elmo Aardvark: Outer Space Detective!