Best illustrated books all over the world
These illustrations are among Kalinovsky’s most distinctive works. They earned him two major international awards — a silver medal at the Leipzig Book Fair and the Golden Apple at the 1977 Biennial of Illustration Bratislava. Kalinovsky approached the American folktales of Joel Chandler Harris not as light children’s stories but […]
Fred forgets everything — his head is filled only with music. The flute plays, and all else just slips away. Even when he’s sent to fetch the Bitter Fruit of Satisfaction for the richest man in the world, he seems more tuned in to melody than to mission. Along the […]
The letter, almost like a living character, rushes across the pages: picked up by postmen, flying in airplanes, sailing on ships, riding on horseback, even sliding on sleds. Each time it finds a new messenger hurrying to deliver it to the right place. And though the letter is always a […]
Oleksandr Shatokhin’s Yellow Butterfly is a wordless picture book from Ukraine. No text, just images — black lines, watercolor, and a single butterfly in yellow. The child walks through ruins and barbed wire, and the butterfly leads her toward light. It’s simple but sharp: the butterfly is hope, the color […]
Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits (Candlewick, 2005) is exactly what the title promises: 26 jazz greats, one for each letter of the alphabet. The words come from Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, bandleader, and walking encyclopedia of jazz. Instead of writing mini-biographies, he plays with form. Each […]
Our belongings often carry more meaning than they first appear to. Over the years, many objects pile up in our homes, but some of them cannot be treated as mere things. Whatever form they take, we cannot bring ourselves to throw them away or replace them. They hold our memories, […]
The Hello, Goodbye Window was written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka. The story is told by a little girl who describes the special kitchen window at her grandparents’ house. It’s the place where she waves hello, says goodbye, and sometimes imagines whole adventures while looking through it. […]
A timeless picture book about Max, a boy who sails to the land of the Wild Things and becomes their king. Maurice Sendak’s iconic story, blending sparse text with powerful illustrations, captures childhood imagination, mischief, and the comfort of home. Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal, it remains one of […]
Kintsugi is a Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery by covering the chipped area with urushi lacquer, with gold, silver, or platinum added. This tradition carries a special philosophy: the breakage is part of the life and history of the object, and should not be hidden. Issa Watanabe’s Kintsugi, […]
The forest is a vast world where all living and nonliving entities are interconnected, governed by their own laws and traditions. A secret underground network of fungi transmits signals, and animals maintain balance, keeping life in constant motion. Trees connect through their roots, forming a gigantic system that supports the […]
Not long ago, I wrote about how objects often carry more than just their material function — they hold memories, emotions, and the stories they witness. In “Per mille camicette al giorno”, Serena Ballista allowed such an object to tell its own story — the narrative is told from the […]
Little Alma stands in front of a mirror holding a cat — but in the reflection, she sees only the cat, hanging in midair. In her world, reality and imagination constantly intertwine. Spending the summer with her grandmother, near a cemetery, Alma increasingly reflects on life and death, loss and […]
This edition of Gulliver’s Travels features illustrations by Gennady Kalinovsky, who brings Swift’s story to life with careful attention to both thought and feeling. The Lilliputians are small but full of character—each one active, clever, and distinct. Gulliver’s presence makes their tiny world feel both real and surprising. Kalinovsky didn’t […]
Some books don’t give answers – instead, they offer endless questions, like a corridor of doors leading to the unknown. The Book of Questions, the last great work of Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, was written just a few months before his death in 1973. It is full […]
Original title: Ведьмы и все прочие Fairy tales by Annie Schmidt, the most famous children’s writer of the Netherlands, winner of the Andersen Gold Medal and many other literary awards. In the book “Witches and All the Others” she reworks famous fairy tale plots in an original way.
In 1968 the Soviet Union published Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Gennady V. Kalinovsky. His black-and-white drawings immediately stood out and later editions also included a selection of color plates. The book quickly became one of the most beloved editions of Travers’s classic in Russia. Kalinovsky’s […]
Caps for Sale is a timeless classic beloved by millions…one of the most popular picture books ever published! This picture book is an excellent choice to share at home or in the classroom, as children love chanting along with the naughty monkeys. Children will delight in following the peddler’s efforts […]
To Daniel the garden shed stands between the familar world of the garden and Grandfather, and a derelict railway yard where nothing changes until one day when a fire brings new possibilities.
Some books carry a whole new world inside them, so enchanting that it envelops you completely and pulls you in. When you open such books, you feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. In “Sentiers”, the main character invites the reader to embark on a journey with them — […]
Sometimes it’s so exciting to spy on your neighbors, looking out the window! In other people’s apartments, incredible things often happen. In Finestre, the main character loves to watch the residents of other apartments. Each has its own story, which, through her rich imagination, turns into a mini-movie: some are […]