Best illustrated books all over the world
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 […]
Original title: Мастер и Маргарита Kalinovsky’s Master and Margarita feels like a visual echo of Bulgakov’s novel — complex, polyphonic, and impossible to pin down. He didn’t try to create one “key” for the whole book; instead, he approached each layer — Jerusalem, Moscow, the love story, the demonic carnival […]
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 […]
Original title: Путешествия Гулливера 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 […]
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.
Original title: Мэри Поппинс 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 […]
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 […]
Original title: Пико — хрустальное горлышко Piko — The Crystal Throat by Nikolai Kosmin is a fairy tale about a small thrush named Piko, born in the kingdom of Vrunglupia — a land where lies, flattery, envy, and spite are part of daily life. Piko is different: he speaks the […]
Original title: Послушай-ка, слон One day, instead of taking the vitamins his mother so thoughtfully gave him, Pinya secretly feeds them to Dominic, a white porcelain elephant he found in the attic. After a while, Dominic suddenly discovers that his bookshelf has become a bit cramped. Thus, Pinya gains a […]
Art is like plasticine — in human hands, it takes whatever form they choose. It is a powerful tool, that is capable of changing people’s opinions, becoming both a means of protest and a call to action. In “Art is a Voice”, Kripa shows that art can not only tell […]
Original title: Огниво Andersen’s tale of the soldier, the witch, and the magical tinderbox is one of his earliest works, first published in 1835. Behind its simple plot of greed, chance, and power lies a story about desire and its consequences, about how quickly fortune can turn. Viktor Chizhikov’s illustrations […]
Original title: Загадки The first riddles by Korney Chukovsky appeared in 1928 in the children’s magazine Yozh. For decades, the poet returned to this playful form, weaving rhythm, humor, and hidden meaning into short verses. In this edition, the riddles unfold with the illustrations of Viktor Chizhikov. His images add […]
You? by Vladimir Radunsky tells a quiet, simple story of connection between a girl and a small dog, separated by a hedge. Both are alone in their own worlds: she watches the dogs that pass by, he watches the people who walk past. Their curiosity finally brings them together, and […]