Category: Design

A History in Pictures

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Writing and illustrating picture books is hard. To execute it well, you have to have the succinctness of a poet, an understanding about how children see and want to see the world, and an artistic vision. How do you guys do it?

To help me wrap my brain around it, the Atlantic has a very cool article about the history of picture books all over the world. The article is almost a review of Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling, by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles, which sounds fascinating. I especially liked this quote by Maurice Sendak about Randolph Caldecott, who basically invented the picture book as we know it:

“Caldecott’s work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book. He devised an ingenious juxtaposition of picture and word, a counter pint that never happened before. Words are left out — but the picture says it. Pictures are left out — but the words say it. In short, it is the invention of the picture book.”

Make sure to check out the whole article. Lots of great images as well!

And You Don’t Need Any Quarters

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I can’t remember the last time I used a pay phone. It might have been in high school. Since they’re not getting a lot of public use anymore, it’s cool to see some New York pay phones getting a literary update.

John Locke (I’m going to imagine him like this) is the man behind the project. He hopes that people will pick up a book while they’re about down, or maybe drop a another off when they’re done with it. One part of the project I find especially cool:

Is there any screening process for the books? For instance, do you try to include great works of literature, or perhaps focus on more accessible and popular novels?

I want everything and anything. I don’t have much of a budget, so all the books are donated from people that live nearby and off my own shelves, so everything from Oprah-approved to Jane Jacobs. And obviously as people leave their own books, I’d want the collection to become a record of the interests of that particular site. A next site I have in mind is near a public school, and I’m trying to get a good collection of children’s books.

I’d be interested to see what books kids share without any guidance from adults. School libraries are obviously fantastic, but something about children being able to run their own library really intrigues me.

Make sure to check out the full interview with Locke. Have any of you seen any pop-up libraries around town?

Across the Pond

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As you may or may not know, book covers are usually different for a novel in the US and its international counterparts. A recent post at the Millions looked at a few different US/UK novels, and I thought it would be cool to look at some popular YA or children’s titles as well. I chose John Green’s Looking for Alaska, which has been translated into several languages.

This is the cover we American readers know and love. I think it’s a solid cover; maybe not startling, but it strikes the right mood.

This is the latest UK cover. This is probably my least favorite, as it feels a little generic.

This is the French cover. Again, maybe a little generic, but I like the collection of teens here.

This is the Spanish cover. At first glance I didn’t like it much, but I think the A as a maze is actually pretty cool. (Could do without the shoe, however.)

I’d be curious to hear more about what goes into different cover designs for international versions of the same title. Do you ever check out international covers?

Light the Candles

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A little late, but check out this gorgeous trailer for Chanukah Lights by Michael J. Rosen and Robert Sabuda. A fantastic example of how artistic pop-ups can be!

Also make sure to check out this interview with Rosen about creating the book. One part I thought was interesting:

One funny accident: We were talking about the “desecration” of the Temple that’s used as the pivotal start of the Chanukah story. And we got all excited about a pop-up spread with columns crashing, oil barrels spilling, fires, and so forth. And then, coming back to my senses after the call, I remembered/realized that we let “desecration” turned into “destruction,” and that neither of the two destroyed Temples are in the this story. I shot Robert an e-mail: “At this point, the Syrians had basically taken over the Temple, erected an altar to Zeus, sacrificed pigs within its space, unsealed the oil containers, etc., but there’s no rubble to tumble and pop up. If scratch-and-sniff is an option, a bacon scent might be nice here.”

I’d always pictured “desecration” as “destruction” as well! It’s cool to see that kind of care with history and translation. And I have to admit, a bacon scratch-and-sniff would be hilarious.

Graphite Library

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Check out artist Eric Fonteneau’s new installation, “La Bibliotheque,” at the French Institute Alliance Francaise. A little about the exhibit:

“Fonteneau traveled Europe and North America with graphite and charcoal. The artist goes to libraries and rubs them on book bindings, taking with him a facsimile of the offerings of the particular branch. At first, Fonteneau rented a warehouse in Nantes for his collection, but has since taken them on tour, showing internationally.

A press release for the installation described “La Bibliotheque” as “playing with the idea of real versus imagined and memory versus record,” and the images below offer a promising peak into what’s sure to be a haunting experience. The “books” are carefully arranged, and the rubbed bindings are legible. Diminutive lights illuminate the space and provide an eerie scale to the room, interrupted only by spare wood furniture which suggest a hidden, important library where one is never seen, but always caught.”

What a cool idea! I love the combination of documenting travel with a technique like rubbing (which reminds me of gravestone rubbings) to create an eerie yet beautiful atmosphere. Click through for more pictures of this gorgeous exhibit.