Best illustrated books all over the world
Charles Perrault’s Puss in Boots has attracted generations of illustrators since its first publication in 1697 — and yet Fred Marcellino’s version still feels completely new. His cover alone breaks every convention: a witty feline face dressed in Renaissance finery stares straight at the viewer, without a single word of […]
At Grandma’s house in the countryside, it feels like stepping into another dimension, where there are fewer worries and cares, the food is the most delicious in the world, there are endless new things to do, and everything around is green and smells nice. The mountains look like whale bellies, […]
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 […]
Starry, Starry Night is a picture book about friendship and the beauty of the world, published in 2009. Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao breaks from the usual picture book format: instead of the standard 32 or 48 pages, this book spans 136 pages, filled with full-spread and panoramic illustrations. The idea […]
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 […]
Sylvester loves collecting pebbles — small treasures that usually don’t change anything. But one day he finds a red one, and the world shifts just a little: suddenly any wish can take shape. In a moment of fear things go wrong, and Sylvester ends up quite literally out of reach. […]
Vladimir Kanevsky was known not only for his art but also for his warmth and presence. Friends and readers remember him as generous, playful, and attentive, sharing his world through drawings, personal notes, and stories.
A timeless picture book where poetry, color, and kindness meet. Beni Montresor’s jewel-like illustrations turn a simple story into a royal celebration — full of rhythm, wit, and a touch of absurd charm. Every page glows with rich, theatrical color, as if lit from within by stage lights. You can […]
Robert Ingpen’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King restores the story to its strange, dreamlike origins — far from the glittering ballet we all know. Here, the tale feels darker, deeper, and far more human. Hoffmann’s world isn’t made of sugar and snowflakes; it’s filled with shadows, curiosity, and the […]
“Nordic Tales” is a book frozen under white snow, enchanted by forest sorcerers, and cherished by lonely princesses. It comes from that very world of snow-covered forests, where the air smells of pine and snowflakes shimmer in the moonlight — where trolls hide behind boulders, cunning foxes whisper, and heroes […]
Leonid Vladimirsky illustrated Cipollino in his recognizable, lively style. His drawings are full of movement and humor, turning the story into a vivid and engaging visual tale. The familiar warmth of his characters makes this version one of the most beloved among his works.
Original title: Приключения Чиполлино Gianni Rodari’s The Adventures of Cipollino, illustrated by Evgeny Migunov, holds a special place among the many Soviet editions of this classic story. Unlike other versions, Migunov’s illustrations were originally created not for a book, but for a filmstrip (diafilm) — a popular visual format in […]
Original title: Сказки дядюшки Римуса 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 […]
Original title: Приключения Чиполлино Gianni Rodari — The Adventures of Cipollino (illustrated by Yevgeny Galey, Detgiz, 1960) was the first of Rodari’s books to be published in a foreign language and quickly became one of the most beloved stories among children in the Soviet Union. Translated under the supervision of […]
Original title: Приключения Чиполлино In 1956, Detgiz published the first Russian edition of Gianni Rodari’s The Adventures of Cipollino, illustrated by Vladimir G. Suteev. For generations of readers, the charming vegetable characters from Rodari’s beloved tale remain inseparable from the images created by Suteev’s hand. Later illustrators of Cipollino rarely […]
Original title: Dobrodružství pavouka Čendy “The story of a miraculous rescue,” says Czech author and illustrator Pavel Čech, “in which a cuckoo saves a little spider from a thief, and the spider later helps the cuckoo escape the ruins of an old house, came to me spontaneously. Inspiration can strike […]
A Story, a Story is a children’s picture book written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley. It retells an African tale about how the trickster Anansi, the Spider Man, obtained stories from Nyame, the Sky God, so that children on Earth could hear them. To succeed, Anansi must capture three […]
A Bear, a Bobcat, and Three Ghosts — a slightly surreal Halloween poem written in loose blank verse, follows the wandering trader Timothy Todd on his nocturnal adventure. On the eve of Halloween, Todd sets out to visit old friends — to sell a bit, buy a bit, and share […]
Original title: Собачки This book was both written and illustrated by Vera Mikhailovna Ermolaeva (1893–1937), one of the most remarkable figures of the Russian avant-garde. A practicing artist as well as a leading theorist, she headed the Laboratory of Color at the State Institute of Artistic Culture (GINKhUK) in Petrograd, […]
Hilary Knight brings Cinderella to life with characters endowed with the same humor, zest, and personality that made readers adore his most famous creation, Eloise. His version includes delightful touches: house cats, a blue fairy godmother, and a slightly plump Prince Charming, that dance across the pages and into readers’ […]