Best illustrated books all over the world
I Never Saw… (1972) is a collaboration between poet Judson Jerome and illustrator Helga Aichinger. The book presents a series of short poems describing things a child sees in dreams—scenes that are imaginative, sometimes ordinary, sometimes unusual. Each poem is paired with Aichinger’s dark, dream-like paintings, where limited, carefully placed […]
Original title: Бочонок собачонок Boris Zakhoder’s The Barrel-Pup is a joyful collection of poems filled with humor, imagination, and that unmistakable spark of childlike wonder. Here live an elephant, a bear, a goat and, of course, countless dogs and puppies. They are not just animals, but characters with their own […]
In The Hidden Forest, Baker turns her attention to the mysterious underwater world of Tasmania’s giant kelp forests. When Ben dives beneath the waves in search of his lost fish trap, he discovers a realm of unexpected beauty and begins to see the ocean and his place within it anew. […]
Stephen Gammell is one of the most recognized masters of visual horror. His most famous work in this genre remains the series of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. These collections were published over the course of a decade, until Schwartz’s death in 1992. Decades later, […]
Original title: Hur låter djuren? Who knows what the frog, the blowfish or the snail sound like? What about the forest mouse and the enormous tiger? And when the bumblebee sneezes, what sound echoes through the woods? Guessing right is trickier than it seems! In Clara Dackenberg’s giggling bestiary, every […]
Original title: Чудесная волынка Rafail Volsky brings to life magical and everyday tales, richly infused with authentic Czech and Slovak customs and historical realities. Among these, the stories of Jánošík, the legendary Slovak hero and defender of the oppressed hold a special place in the hearts of readers. The books […]
Helga Aichinger (born 1937) is an Austrian artist, engraver, and illustrator. She completed a course in calligraphy and typography at the School of Fine Arts in Linz (Kunstschule Linz). Since the early 1960s, Aichinger has worked extensively as a book illustrator and has also produced pastels, collages, and engravings. Her […]
A picture book by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Ted Kooser and Canadian illustrator Jon Klassen, a poignant story about loss, change, and the quiet triumph of nature. The book was named one of The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2012. When the house was first built, its perfectly […]
Jon Klassen is a contemporary author-illustrator best known for his work on the “hat” books — clever, visually restrained stories that combine dry humor, mood, and minimalist art. In titles like I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat, Klassen uses simple forms, muted colors, and careful […]
“Um Dio, um Rio”, illustrated by Brazilian artist André Neves, is a story with a strong ecological message, but the author deliberately drifts away from realism into a haunting, surreal world to show the tragedy from the inside. The main character and narrator here is the river itself, suffocating in […]
Ed Young (1931–2023) was an American author and illustrator of children’s books, twice nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. In 1990, he received the Caldecott Medal for Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China. Young was born in Tianjin, China, and moved with his family to Shanghai […]
Original title: 지난 여름 The road leaves the city behind. The high-rise buildings fade into the distance, the trees grow taller, the air becomes cleaner, and the world slows down a little. Summer is a time of adventure, friendship, relaxation, and growing up, and its magical atmosphere is especially present […]
Halloween ABC (Eve Merriam, illustrations by Lane Smith) is a darkly playful alphabet book of twenty-six short poems, each keyed to a Halloween word. Published in 1987, the volume pairs Merriam’s rhythmic, often macabre verses with Smith’s moody, painterly images; the illustrations (oil on board) use shadow and a restricted […]
Five small toys – an owl, a pig, a bear, a puppy, and a rabbit – sit on a windowsill and simply wait. Each one waits for something different: the moon, the rain, the wind, the snow. And the rabbit? He waits for nothing in particular. He just likes the […]
Kevin Henkes (1960) is an American author and illustrator of children’s picture books. He wrote his first book in 1981 while still in college. Since then, he has created around fifty picture books. His work has been widely praised. In 2005 he received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full […]
In this book, Ipcar plays with contrast in a very direct, visual way. The cat moves through the dark, and each spread shifts between deep nighttime tones and bright, fully colored scenes that suggest what he perceives. The alternation feels almost rhythmic — quiet, shadowed pages followed by sudden bursts […]
In this seek-and-find story, a little girl sets out to locate her missing pets, convinced they’ve vanished—though they’re actually hiding in plain sight on every page. Ipcar fills the spreads with clear, bright artwork packed with animals, giving young readers plenty to spot without making the search overwhelming. Told in […]
In Bug City, a family of insects goes about their day. Mama is a ladybug and Papa is a daddy longlegs. They shop for calico moths and velvet ants, visit the zoo with rhinoceros beetles and ant lions, and meet friends along the way. Everywhere they go, little adventures happen, […]
World Full of Horses is a children’s picture book by Dahlov Ipcar that celebrates the enduring presence and charm of horses through generations. The book opens with a look back at “grandfather’s day,” when horses were everywhere, pulling carriages, streetcars, fire engines, plows, and even soldiers into battle. Ipcar then […]
Dahlov Ipcar (1917-2017) grew up in a creative, artistic family and began drawing very early in life. At 19, she married her math tutor and moved with her husband to a rural farm in Maine. There, she built a real farm life — raising animals, gardening — while also dedicating […]