Best illustrated books all over the world
Five Tales of Love brings together some of Hans Christian Andersen’s most enduring stories — Thumbelina, The Tinderbox, The Little Mermaid, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep. Each of them speaks about love in a different register: quiet devotion, reckless passion, longing, loyalty, sacrifice. In […]
Cossack Holota belongs to the golden treasury of the Vesyolka publishing house. It was created by the Ukrainian writer Maria Prygara and the artist Heorhiy Yakutovich, and first appeared in print in 1966, becoming beloved by many generations of young readers. The story is set in the 17th–18th centuries, at […]
The first “golden age of children’s literature” in Sweden came at the beginning of the 20th century, and it is inseparable from the names of Selma Lagerlöf, Anna Wahlenberg, Helena Nyblom, and of course Elsa Beskow. Beskow not only wrote fairy tales for children, but was also an outstanding children’s […]
In the book Fox, the story of relationships is told metaphorically by author Margaret Wild and illustrator Ron Brooks. Readers encounter several tragic situations, complicated breakups, betrayal, and attempts at redemption. These are portrayed through three characters, a magpie and a dog, both disabled by a forest fire, and a […]
One day, Sven the swan bursts into the peaceful, festive life of a quiet little village. He makes an epic entrance on a skateboard, wearing cool sunglasses and holding a cup of coffee in his wing. Meeting three villagers: a dog, a horse, and a butterfly, Sven offers to grant […]
“La feria abandonada” (“The Abandoned Fair”) is a collection of twelve melancholic texts created by Spanish artist Pablo Auladell together with two of his friends, journalist Rafa Burgos and poet Julián López Medina. Stylistically distinct, these poetic short pieces share a common atmosphere of loss and quiet sorrow – stories […]
Have you ever stopped, looking at a bridge spanning a river or canyon, and wondered how it came to be or who first conceived it? Bridges can be truly captivating: sometimes for their height, sometimes for their shape, sometimes for their curves, and sometimes for their liveliness and dynamism. Some […]
The Hungry Moon is a collection of Mexican nursery tales, including two songs and thirteen stories, illustrated by Mérida for American publishers. Though original artworks by Mérida are rare and valuable, his illustrations bring his characteristic style to the realm of children’s literature, merging cultural motifs with modernist aesthetics.
In this Caldecott-winning book, Ed Young works simultaneously as author and illustrator, offering his own retelling of the traditional Chinese “Granny Wolf” story — a tale that shares roots with the European Little Red Riding Hood but unfolds with different dynamics. Instead of one child walking through a forest, Young […]
The outstanding American artist Dahlov Ipcar described her style as “non-intellectual cubism” and became known worldwide for her original and unusual works. Her paintings hang in dozens of American galleries, schools, and libraries, as well as in the Whitney and Metropolitan museums. Dahlov Ipcar was a true workaholic: she painted […]
Dahlov Ipcar’s book about an underwater farmer, published in 1961, sheds light on the hidden world beneath the water, where a tireless merman tends to his marine farm. With the help of two seahorses, he patrols his domain, protects manatees from fierce tiger sharks, and frees creatures caught in the […]
Alison Lester began illustrating books in 1986, and just four years later her Imagine broke all sales records in Australia, becoming the number-one children’s bestseller. And I can completely understand why. To my taste, this is exactly how an educational, illustrated children’s book should be. Lester seamlessly combines several techniques […]
This Is Rome is one of those books where you open the first spread and immediately feel the weight of centuries settling around you, but in Šašek’s playful way, never solemn, never heavy. Rome in his hands is not a postcard city polished for tourists, it’s a living place, a […]
Jimmy Liao, who turns 67 today, devoted himself entirely to book illustration after a battle with leukemia diagnosed in 1995. After recovering, he stayed home and drew constantly. Over his career, he has illustrated more than fifty books, many of which have received awards, and several have been adapted into […]
The Museum of Me by British artist Emma Lewis — winner of the 2017 Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award — offers an unusually sincere, child-eye view of what a museum is and why it exists in the first place. A little girl wanders through all kinds of galleries (there’s even […]
The Adventures of Cipollino tells the story of the brave little onion boy who stands up against injustice in a world of fruit and vegetable characters. Gheorghe Zlobin’s illustrations bring this playful tale to life with bright, energetic drawings full of movement and personality. Zlobin’s style is unusual and lively: […]
Paul and Peter are twins, and from the first page, the book opens a window into a world where numbers take shape. Father Lion tends three cubs, Mother Mole keeps track of four little ones, and a barn owl watches over five eggs. Each family is shown with small, thoughtful […]
Annegert Fuchshuber (1940–1998) was a German author and illustrator of children’s books, known for her expressive visual style and thoughtful, often emotionally rich storytelling. She was born in Magdeburg and later moved with her family to Bavaria, where she spent most of her life. After finishing school in 1960, she […]
Ron Brooks (born 1948) is an Australian illustrator whose work has become foundational in the country’s picture-book tradition. He studied art in Melbourne, later continuing at Swinburne University and the Melbourne University of Technology and Design. Over several decades, Brooks created some of Australia’s most beloved picture books and is […]
Ulrika Kestere is a Latvian-born Swedish graphic designer, picture-book author, and photographer based in Lund. She has published six children’s books, including Wild Neighbours, Otto Goes North, The Sensitive Hedgehog, The Birthday, No More Cookies, and The Magical Swan Sven. Kestere often draws on the folklore and fairytale traditions of […]