Best illustrated books all over the world
Black and White is a postmodern picture book and recipient of the 1991 Caldecott Medal. Each two-page spread is divided into four quadrants, with each quadrant presenting a separate story: Seeing Things, Problem Parents, A Waiting Game, and Udder Chaos. While the stories can be read independently, they are interconnected […]
Carlos Mérida was a Guatemalan-born artist who became a major figure in Latin American modernism. He studied at the Instituto de Artes y Artesanías in Guatemala and, in 1910, moved to Paris, where he lived for four years and worked alongside artists such as Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, and Amedeo […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Egg Tree is a quiet, classic picture book built around a family memory. Katy and Carl arrive at their grandmother’s Pennsylvania farm for Easter, and during the egg hunt Katy ends up in the attic. The six painted eggs she discovers there become the center of the story. They […]
In 2007, the well-known actor and popular author Steve Martin together with Roz Chast, a witty cartoonist who had long and fruitfully collaborated with The New Yorker, decided to combine their efforts and creative abilities and came up with a humorous illustrated tour of the English alphabet. The Alphabet from […]
In A Halloween Happening, a community of witches invites children to a Halloween party full of magical mischief. The witches build a giant tower of jack-o’-lanterns, complete with a batwing glider platform at the top, while preparing toad tarts, worm waffles, and candy bats. Adams’ dark, muted palette and detailed […]