I have just come back from a shopping spree at Waterstones and after spending over an hour in the child's section I bought 4 beautifully illustrated books...
Sarah Gibb's illustrations in "The Princess Who Had No Kingdom" by Ursula Jones are a really beautiful use of colour and silhouettes and reminds me of Princes and Princesses by Michel Ocelot in the visual style. The story is quite original seeing as it is in the style of a classic fairy tale and involves princes and princesses as do so many others...
Eric Puybaret's paintings are also very beautifully done in the book "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton. His style is very curvy and flows a lot. I think that his landscapes work best as he captures distance very well by using fading colours. It is a shame that the text isn't as good as the pictures. The book also comes with a CD of songs to sing along with the book...and they are AWFUL!
Even for kid's songs they are extremely cheesy and predictable...but it has inspired me to maybe write songs to go with my future kid's storybooks as I like writing music.
Lynley Dodd's illustrations in her book "Slinky Malinki Catflaps" are much rougher and quirkier than the other books which seem very laborious in comparison. Dodd's technique is much freer and she is not afraid to show evidence of brushstrokes and pencil lines.
The text is positively delightful, it is very well written poetry with brilliant use of literary tools such as alliteration and using certain letters to create a real sense of rhythm.
R.W. Alley's illustrations in "Paddington"are more like laborious drawing but still full of energy, particularly in the line. The character style is also very effective and they all transmit individual personalities through their appearances. It is interesting how many of the images are deliberately left unfinished. The story is of course brilliant. Paddington Bear is a classic after all...
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