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osprey_archerThis week's Caldecott book, Baboushka and the Three Kings, is so cute! And also super tiny: the book is a little shorter than an ordinary paperback and only a little longer, much smaller than the usual run of picture book.
But the size works really well with the illustration style. It reminds me of a plain stained glass window or a very simple embroidery: all straight lines and big blocks of color - oh, or an even better comparison: it's like a Mondrian painting, softened slightly for children because the blocks add up to pictures. The color palette is even the same, black lines with red and yellow and blue.
It's quite simple and striking and a lovely way to ease children toward an appreciation of modern art. It strikes me as rather beautiful, actually, that we believe that children can appreciate art in so many different (and sometimes supposedly difficult) styles, because if there's one thing that's striking about the Caldecott it's how very varied the art styles are.
But the size works really well with the illustration style. It reminds me of a plain stained glass window or a very simple embroidery: all straight lines and big blocks of color - oh, or an even better comparison: it's like a Mondrian painting, softened slightly for children because the blocks add up to pictures. The color palette is even the same, black lines with red and yellow and blue.
It's quite simple and striking and a lovely way to ease children toward an appreciation of modern art. It strikes me as rather beautiful, actually, that we believe that children can appreciate art in so many different (and sometimes supposedly difficult) styles, because if there's one thing that's striking about the Caldecott it's how very varied the art styles are.
