Creative Pastimes books by Claire Bailey Passantino
Matilda the Computer Cat, 1984. Cover design by Carol Conway with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh
In 1984, Claire Bailey Passantino authored a series of books that taught kids – explicitly including girls – about computers and programming. They were published by Reston, a specialized imprint of Prentice-Hall, in the Creative Pastimes book series. Each title was available in different editions: for the Atari, the Commodore 64, and the TI-99/4A.
The cover typography uses all-caps ITC Benguiat Gothic throughout. The sans-serif variant of ITC Benguiat (1978) with monolinear strokes and round terminals was released in 1979, becoming a staple on 1980s book covers.
Itty Bitty Bytes of Space for the Commodore 64 computer, 1984. Cover design by Nancy Sutherland with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh
School Days for the TI-99/4A, 1984. Cover design by Carol Conway with an illustration by Bethann Thornburgh
1 Comment on “Creative Pastimes books by Claire Bailey Passantino”
Amazon additionally lists a fourth title by the author, Lou, the Cockroach, Meets the Commodore 64. I’m inclined to think that that’s a parody.