Little Big Books: Illustrations for Children's Picture Books

by Robert Klanten (Editor), Hendrik Hellige (Editor)

Children see the world with different eyes. Through illustrated stories in children's books they learn about the world in which they live. The best picture books for children not only feature wonderful stories, but also tell them in a visually appealing way. Children are very critical readers who simply cast aside books they deem boring, overzealous, pedantic, or visually unimaginative. Thankfully, a rich selection of contemporary children's books is currently available. They deal with quite sophisticated topics and feature cuttingedge images. Despite, or because of, the ubiquity of televisions and computers, children's books have remained popular with kids and parents. These books have also not lost their appeal for illustrators and publishing houses--not least because a hit children's book can serve as the lucrative basis for TV programs, video games, toys, or other merchandising. Little Big Books showcases the best examples of illustration for children's books and documents current trends in their design. Reflecting a broad range of styles, methods, and materials, the images and concepts featured here provide an insightful overview of the most important aesthetic developments over the last several years. An introductory text puts the current work into the historical context of classic illustrated books for children. Little Big Books is a valuable resource for illustrators, publishing houses, parents, grandparents, and anyone who is looking for compelling illustrated children's books beyond teddy bears and kitty cats.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Childrens, Design

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2012

About the author

Robert Klanten has been a key figure in the global creative industry for more than a quarter of a century, helping to reimagine the way we approach publishing. He has driven over 800 publications and commercial projects.
Robert is the CEO of gestalten, the company he founded in 1995. Under his leadership, gestalten has established itself as a pillar in the field of contemporary visual culture, design and architecture, by immersing its readers in creative landscapes, cultures, people and art. gestalten regularly collaborates with the biggest names in the creative world and is known and loved by millions around the globe for its iconic books.
He has shown how creativity has no limits in the digital age: through inspiration, inclusivity and promoting understanding; and by connecting the global and the local through storytelling.

Reviews

[Janelle]

I didn't think it was possible to dislike a book about picture books, but I guess there's a first time for everything. I'm sure this book will be enjoyed by many people, but it didn't appeal to me. I didn't like most of the illustrations, and I didn't recognise any of the books featured. The purpose of Little Big Books is to highlight artists and their contribution to the world of picture books. This is achieved through the artwork itself, brief biographies and occasional interviews. There's also a very strong focus on European artists. While I do enjoy the artwork of picture books (though obviously not these illustrations), I am interested in the stories too, and rather hopeful of rediscovering an old favourite. Neither of these were a feature of this book. I also prefer my biographies to be more than a list of books published, and the artists' alma mater.
Because I wasn't enjoying this, I didn't finish reading through the text and just skimmed through the illustrations instead. So it's probably not fair to rate it.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

( More pictures on my blog )

Little Big Books is a wonderful collection of work from 100 illustrators and creators of children picture books. That's 240 pages in this big beautiful hardcover book.

The illustrations are fun, playful and diverse. There's an appealing childlike simplicity to them. Each illustrator has a profile and there are five interviews talking about the psychology of children picture books, awards, and advice on publishing rights and licensing.

It's a great book for children book illustrators and those looking for inspiration on drawing for children.

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was delightful, and the chance to experience the artwork of so many wonderful artists was a joy. I was slightly disappointed that only a small number of the artists featured were actually interviewed for the book, as I found the interviews to be as much of a highlight as the illustrations. Kitty Crowther's interview especially was wonderful, funny and enlightening, in addition to her beautiful pictures. I did mark the book down slightly from four to five for this reason. Although if all the artists had been interviewed, it would of course have been a much longer and more expensive book!

However it's a beautiful book and wonderfully presented, and I would still recommend it to anyone interested in art and book illustration.