BOLOGNARAGAZZI - TODDLER

BAYARD, Paris, France

Mes animaux tout doux du jardin

Text and illustrations by Xavier Deneux

What the Jury said:

Skilled artist Xavier Deneux deliberately makes use of just a few colours in a book designed to stimulate the child’s visual and tactile ability in a synesthetic experience of the world.

On every page, the predominant black and white is accompanied by a small detail in another colour – an unexpected yet highly poetic touch.

We Sang You Home

Text by Richard Van Camp, illustrations by Julie Flett

What the Jury said:

Classical in its layout and narrative, this board book sets itself apart for the expressive effectiveness and refined pictorial technique of the illustrations.

The images follow one another in no chronological sequence, like a series of frame stops. This highlights the affective intensity of each scene, the interpersonal relationships portrayed, and the close connection with the natural world and its creatures. 

Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry, Warsaw, Poland

Kominiarz /Piekarz (Chimney sweeper/Baker)

Text and Illustrations by Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka

What the Jury said:

Using the graphic stratagem of contrasting opposites, the book illustrates two parallel stories that meet in the middle.

The everyday gestures of grownups are explained through the lives of two brothers with very different jobs.

The illustration has a refined simplicity. The use of black and white underlines the differences in the two occupations, while the addition of red creates a highly effective visual impact.

Dynamic and implicitly musical, the sequence of images is particularly effective, stimulating the young child’s aesthetic and emotional senses.

The sequence of illustrations in Il Principe Ranocchio shows an author and artist whose disciplined expressive power is, as always, laced with an unexpected, mischievously lighthearted poetic irony. As well as the Frog Prince, Attilio has also given us many other classical fairytales, from the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood to the Pied Piper of Hamelin and Aesop’s Fables. His inimitable unmistakable style leaps off the white page. The minimal text, the result of long-honed experience, looses nothing of the original tale. The consistently original books produced over the years by Attilio Cassinelli, known as Attilio, has made him a key figure in the history of Italian and international illustration.

Throughout his long career, Attilio has continued to refine his art and keenly acute gaze to address the very young.

	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy Cappuccetto Rosso Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy I musicanti di Brema Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy I tre porcellini Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy Il leone e il topo Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy Il principe ranocchio Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy Riccioli d'oro Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli
	Lapis Edizioni, Rome, Italy Topo di campagna e topo di citta Text and illustrations by Attilio Cassinelli