(Find me at 50 Watts Books.)

Selections from A Handful of Surprises by Anne Heathers and Esteban Frances (1961)

From the jacket copy:

What has five characters that can't leave each other, no matter how much they would occasionally like to? The hand of Fleek the clown! Each finger of his gloved hand is a special individual, from O'Tooley, the thumb, who is the strongest—and somewhat of a bully—to pretty little Tink, who is small and delicate, the only lady in the lot. And what trouble they get into—until Fleek has to punish them, sometimes by covering them with thimbles or holding them prisoner with clothespins. At last Fleek finds a way to make them all work together—and to celebrate, they have a grand and glorious party!

The five fingers' exciting and unpredictable adventures, as told in Anne Heathers' highly original, completely captivating story, are perfectly portrayed in humorous line and bright color by Estéban Frances, the noted Spanish painter and theater designer. Like The Thread Soldier, the first picture book by the same author and artist, A Handful of Surprises will delight small children and led them into imaginative play of their own.

A Handful of Surprises is one of two collaborations between Anne White Heathers (1921 - 2010) and Estéban Frances (1913 - 1976), the other being The Thread Soldier (1960).

I became interested in Estéban Frances after posting his cover for a 1944 issue of View. You can see three pages of his work on all-art.org.

From Heathers' obit:

She collaborated with Frances on costumes and set designs for various ballets choreographed by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Company. Throughout her life, she produced a considerable body of work -- poems, collages, sculptures, drawings, and a musical play, most of which is unknown. She had many friends in artistic and intellectual circles, including Robert Graves, James Agee, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mary McCarthy, Delmore Schwartz, William Barrett, Charles Adams, William Steig, Rudolf Wurlitzer, Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg and many more.