Books Not Published in the United States

Many books published outside the United States have an unusual air about them.  They are subtly odd, like a Canadian penny.  On the surface, the foreign picture books I’ve perused are similar to American picture books. And yet, upon closer inspection there is something refreshingly different about these books that is difficult to put your finger on. Questions Asked, by Jostein Gaarder and Akin Duzakin is a Norwegian book that is a series of questions that range from the mundane to the profound. “What am I most afraid of?” “What is Time?” “What happens when I die?” The soft penciled images are reminiscent of Van Allsburg--at once realistic, but hauntingly mysterious. The book is surprisingly long for a picture book, with 69 pages.  There is a disquieting pairing of images to some of the questions, but the book is undeniably beautiful. British selections run toward the cheeky and irreverent.  A Place to Read by Leigh Hodgkinson maintains a quaint stodginess, while the main character seeks a quiet place to read.  It shan’t be “smelly, stinky, grimy” nor “slippy, slimy.” The little protagonist daintily pinches his or her nose.  To the credit of the author/illustrator, it is difficult to tell whether it’s a boy or girl. The images are graphic and bold with a heavy use of dark colors, much like The Three Robbers, which was first published in Germany.  Here, the story is very restrained.  The images are in very dramatic shapes of color.  You can sense the author/illustrators experience in poster design with bright pops of color and the three robbers as mostly black space with one or two small but bright white eyes. The way they bleed off the paper, provide a menacing silhouette, and flood the page as a background is artful and powerfully effective in creating a heavy mood.  In contrast, the story of the armed thieves makes a surprising turn as they discover an unhappy little girl and adopt her.  They soon create an orphanage and their wards grow up to build houses around them, creating a loving town. The contrast between threatening images with looming shadows and well-cared for children is playful and comforting.  This technique is rarely seen in popular American picture books.

(picture book, fiction, ages 6-10)