Best illustrated books all over the world
Discovery opens with waves crashing against shores — fish, birds, then people appear. Brodsky’s poem suggests the first discoverers of America, but it’s more than just a history lesson. There are hints that discovery is ongoing: land still holds secrets, and humans are never done exploring. Radunsky’s art, in collage […]
Maurice Sendak’s The Nutcracker offers a strikingly original vision of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic Christmas tale. Created in conjunction with Sendak’s celebrated set and costume designs for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 1983 production, this book presents the familiar story of Clara, her mysterious godfather Drosselmeier, and the enchanted journey to the […]
The Maestro Plays (1994), written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky, is a lively, rhyming picture book that follows the eccentric Maestro as he takes the stage with a parade of instruments. The language bursts with rhythm and invention: the Maestro plays reachingly, beseechingly, flowingly, glowingly – […]
Here and There is the story of Dan, the owner of a small seaside café, and Aki, a sailor who is always on the move. Two people, two different worlds: one cherishes stability, the other seeks novelty. Yet both sometimes feel lonely. When their paths cross, the world suddenly feels […]
In 10 (Ten), Radunsky follows Mr. and Mrs. Armadillo, a newly married couple who soon discover that their family will be much bigger than expected. Mrs. Armadillo gives birth not to one baby, but to ten — each simply named One through Ten. The story unfolds with playful exaggeration as […]
This book feels more like music than a story. Chris Raschka takes a few simple words — “Charlie Parker played be bop” — and mixes them with playful sounds and rhythms that bounce across the page like a saxophone solo. The text begs to be read out loud, chanted, or […]
Original title: Dyujmovochka The book includes the most beautiful and romantic fairy tales of H. C. Andersen: “Thumbelina” and “Wild Swans”. Illustrations for the fairy tales were created by the modern artist Nadezhda Illarionova. She is a versatile and passionate creative person: an artist, graphic artist, illustrator and designer. A […]
Moosey Moose bursts with the voice of a little moose who suddenly decides: “I’m going to sit here!” He is loud, stubborn, and full of energy, and the rhythm of the words matches his mood perfectly — short, emphatic, almost like stomps on the page. Raschka’s brushstrokes echo that energy. […]
Original title: Волшебник Изумрудного города “The Wizard of the Emerald City” is a fairy tale story by Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, written in 1939 based on the fairy tale by the American writer Lyman Frank Baum “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” with some changes. The illustrator of the original edition of […]
“I Was a Deer” by Ahmad Akbarpur is about a deer that has been severely injured. The deer knows that it must flee from the royal hunters. Narges Mohammadi studied graphic design in Tehran and now lives there. Her works have been repeatedly selected for important international exhibitions: in Bologna, […]
In Because…, Mikhail Baryshnikov draws on his own life as a dancer to shape the story: the grandmother’s playful, unpredictable behavior is explained by her passion for dance — something Baryshnikov knows from the inside. His perspective gives the book authenticity and warmth, showing how dance can spill into everyday […]
Swiss artist Alois Carigiet was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize, the most prestigious award in the field, for his contribution to the development of children’s literature. The category for illustrators was introduced in 1966, ten years after the prize was founded, and Carigiet became its first laureate. In fact, […]
This is the story of Jennie, a little Sealyham terrier who feels she has everything a dog could want — but still believes “there must be more to life.” She leaves home to search for adventure and finds herself in a series of odd and sometimes puzzling encounters, all leading […]
Mark Twain’s Advice to Little Girls, written in 1865, takes the familiar form of moral instruction and turns it upside down with sly humor. His playful tone makes ordinary lessons sound both absurd and oddly practical, giving young readers a glimpse of mischief hiding behind polite words. The edition illustrated […]
Chris Raschka’s Elizabeth Imagined an Iceberg (1994) is an unusual picture book. A girl named Elizabeth rides her bike and encounters a strange woman called Madam Uff Da, who behaves in a pushy, unsettling way. Elizabeth feels uncomfortable and threatened. To cope with her fear, she imagines an iceberg—huge, cold, […]
This book joins together two old nursery rhymes, illustrated and expanded by Maurice Sendak. In both, ordinary verses turn into strange little adventures: Hector Protector, who is “dressed all in green,” and the traveler who “went over the water,” each stumble into odd and sometimes unsettling situations. Sendak’s pictures make […]
The Little House is a 1942 children’s picture book written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. Published by Houghton Mifflin, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1943. Author Virginia Lee Burton has stated that “The Little House was based on our own little house which […]
“Finders Keepers” is a joint effort between artist Nicholas Mordvinov and writer William Lipkind; the book was published in 1951 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1952. Stylish illustrations in four colors – gold, red, white and black – were drawn by the American artist of Russian origin Nicholas Mordvinov. […]
Original title: Приключения Алисы в Стране Чудес “Carroll’s book, in my opinion, is not a fairy tale. A fairy tale is devoid of paradox, a fairy tale has a solid ethical basis, and its plot is wandering. In any case, “Alice” is not a folk tale, but rather a folkloric […]
Original title: Spyashchaya krasavitsa The main thing is the idea of a fairy tale in general and the child’s memory of what a real fairy-tale prince should be like, what a real fairy-tale princess should be like. I am convinced that children’s illustrations should not be stylized to match the […]