The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

This Article, by Felicata Sala, goes over and reviews some of the contestants for best illustrated children’s book. I chose this Article, as the subject, again, interests me very much. I love illustration, and for a good while I wanted to grow up to be an Illustrator. In a field, such as children’s books, most would believe there was little room to get creative, seeing as you are appealing to children, however, once I read this article, I was made aware of the amount of work that goes into each cover. For this year’s competition, the panel sat:

“… Leonard Marcus, a children’s literature historian and critic; Jenny Rosenoff, a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library; and Bryan Collier, the author and illustrator of many acclaimed picture books and a past winner of the award.”

Judge’s Comment- “Morales’s colorful collages create a wonderful dreamlike effect in this powerful story of a mother and child leaving Mexico on an unexpected journey in search of a new life.”

I really like the combination of; water colour paints, illustrations and collaging that have been used to create this book. This allows for a really nice Depth effect, and a contrast of objects. For example, the peaceful birds and mountains, contrast with the explosion of objects coming from the backpack to the left. Collaging was used on the legs of the mother in order to create an interesting texture, again contrasting with her calm facial expression. This piece, has shown me just how effective using a combination of mediums can be, and I hope to include a similar style in some of my work

Judge’s Comment- “Like a fairy-tale walk in the woods, “The Forest” is a thrilling visual excursion into uncharted territory featuring elaborate die-cuts, gatefolds and embossed images created by two artists from Italy and Spain.”

This book uses a colour in a more delicate way, by using small dashes of colour where necessary, it really draws in the eye. By using layering on the cover, instead of a picture, a really nice design is created, by the shadows cast on the book. The book has been illustrated in water colour, which creates softer colours and shapes, useful when appealing to a young audience. You can also see the how the paint brush has allowed for some really interesting shapes when creating the greenery.