PPBF: 100 Great Children’s Picturebooks

Author: Martin Salisbury
Publisher: Lawrence King, 2015
Ages: all
Themes: great children’s picture books, illustration, design
Opening: Having had the impertinence to make a selection under the banner of 100 Great Children’s Picturebooks, I am anxious to make a few things clear in my defense at the outset. First, I am of course very aware that, as a multi-modal form of communication, the the successful picturebook is about much more than good art and design. This selection, however, first and foremost about good art and design, and is made entirely on that basis. It aspires to deliver a visual feast for those who love the picturebook.

Summary: (from my library catalog) Each book is a creation of genius and inventiveness, and their design and illustration represent such diverse trends as the Russian Constructivists, Italian Futurists and Postwar Neo-romantics. They are also mirrors of their times reflecting social concerns from a child’s and family’s perspectives throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century. Fearlessly confronting the frontiers between a child’s picturebook and art, this is a collection of books that anyone with an interest in design, illustration or simply children’s literature should know about.

I like this book because: no comment! Just look at these spreads!

Resources/activities: read this book; look for some of the selections and read them; make a list of some of your own favorites and discuss the reasons behind your choices; read some more!

For existing PPBF selections, including resources and activities, go to Susanna Hill’s blog: HERE

From THE THORN MOUNTAIN, Paul Sunmi, Some Books, 2012