FICTION
WINNER
MON TOUT PETITÉditions La Joie de Lire, Geneva, Switzerland, 2015 Text by Germano Zullo, illustrations by Albertine
This is a book about love, the passing of time, and the cycle of our lives. It is also about relationships. Slowly, page after page, the sparse black pencil illustrations on milky white paper tell a restrained, eloquently poetic universal story.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
ENFANTILLAGESRouergue S.A., Arles, France, 2015 Text and illustrations by Gérard Dubois
This small book is an ironic account of the small cruelties children are capable of. Each double-page image is accompanied by a short text that leaves it up to the reader to investigate further. The muted colours against the white pages lend the narrative a lightness of tone, making the collection seem like an illustrated notebook from a period out of time.
WALKING HOME THROUGH THE NIGHT Kaisei-sha Publishing Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 2015 Text and illustrations by Akiko Miyakoshi
With her story of a small rabbit, the author attempts to answer the question all children ask: what happens when we go to sleep? The illustrations alternate between the somewhat frightening darkness of the night, cosily lit homes and a mother’s reassuring hug. The author has crafted a magnificently illustrated heart-warming story for very young children gradually learning to accept the night.
ATT VARA JAGLilla Piratförlaget, Stockholm, Sweden, 2015 Text and illustrations by Anna Höglund
The dilemmas and choices facing the young girl in this coming-of-age book are told with strongly evocative images. The passage from adolescence to adulthood is seen from the viewpoint of a contemporary woman. Told with great humanity, it never falls into the trap of stereotypes.
SPECIAL MENTION FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
WHEN THE SUN RISES One Stroke, Tokyo, Japan, 2015 Text and illustrations by Katsumi KomagataOnce again the masterful Komagata demonstrates that unstinting application and perseverance are the path to exquisite, aesthetically stunning achievements. Iconic forms, negative spaces, pointed detail and a lightness of touch are the ingredients that give this volume its universal poetic. The images remain impressed in the folds of memory like a sunset seen for the first time.
NON FICTION
LIBROS PARA MAÑANA (Series)Media Vaca, Valencia, Spain, 2015
by Equipo Plantel illustrations by Marta Pina, Mikel Casal, Joan Negrescolor & Luci Gutiérrez
Founded in the 1970s, this imprint returns to and updates a wide range of important political and social themes with the aim of opening young readers’ minds. Text and images encourage a broad-minded reflection of events.
GÉNÉRATION ROBOTS. Actes Sud Junior, Arles, France, 2015 Text by Natacha Scheidhauer and illustrations by Séverine Assous
With the minimalist style of their expressive illustrations coupled with an informative, humorous text, the authors tell us how close robots are to man, and how useful they are in our daily lives. The future holds a “robolution”.
SHACKLETON’S JOURNEYFlying Eye Books, London, United Kingdom, 2014 Text and illustrations by William Grill
The evocative tones of the carefully researched images with their stretches of white ice accompany a factual yet expressive account of Shackleton’s fateful expedition.
ALLE WETTERVerlagshaus Jacoby & Stuart, Berlin, Germany, 2015 Text and illustrations by Britta Teckentrup
An elegant book on weather phenomena. The exquisitely executed illustrations are also intriguing insights into evocative inner landscapes.
THIS IS PRAGUEBaobab, Praga, Czech Republic, 2015 Text by Olga Černá and illustrations by Michaela Kukovičová
In this book on Prague the authors take the reader on a fascinating walk across bridges, through traffic, parks and crowded city streets. Theirs is an artistic tribute to Šašek, using collage, drawing and cut-out paper. Very likely, other cities will follow.
NEW HORIZONSWINNER
TONGUE TWISTERS (Lisanak Hisanak)Kalimat, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 2016 Text by Fatima Sharafeddine and illustrations by Hanane Kai
The inventive modular composition of this vibrant book combines a repeated series of simple geometrical shapes in primary colours. No exercise in abstract painting, it is an original attempt to give visual form to tongue twisters and the difficulty of pronouncing certain words very fast. Cleverly crafted juxtaposition of the images hides the words, which if pronounced wrongly, lead to an amusing jumble of the patterns.
TRES PORTUGUESES BAJO UN PARAGUAS (SIN CONTAR EL MUERTO)Calibroscopio Ediciones, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2015 Text by Rodolfo Walsh and illustrations by Inés Calveiro
This book tackles a difficult topic – dictatorship and death. Told as a detective story, this Latin American classic is here accompanied by terse, highly effectively illustrations. The only exception to the different tones of grey is the red of the umbrella and a few other details. This singular use of colour symbolically drives home the absurdity and arbitrary nature of any regime.
NO DES PUNTADA SIN HILOEditorial Amanuta, Santiago, Chile, 2015 Text by Manuel Peña Muñoz and illustrations by Maureen ChadwickPublishing a book on proverbs for children takes courage. It takes even more courage to illustrate proverbs with images of traditional embroidery. Yet this book does just that, its measured tone evoking age-old crafts that together create what could be called a vademecum of magic formulae.
CONQUISTADORES EN EL NUEVO MUNDOTragaluz editores S.A.S., Medellín, Colombia, 2013 Text by Grassa Toro and illustrations by Pep Carrió
Text, images and the book itself here comprise a harmoniously elegant whole narrating some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the conquest of South America.
OPERA PRIMAWINNER
ÉPACHO RADA, LA LÉGENDE!ditions Magnani, Paris, France, 2015Text and illustrations by Johanna Benz
The sweeping flourish of the illustrations lends a mischievous irreverence to this book that speaks directly to the reader. The decisive use of colour here takes on symbolic significance. Empty spaces and apparently unfinished, floating lines are all carefully crafted. This is a book that combines graphic art and illustration to perfection.
BEAUTIFUL BIRDSFlying Eye Books, London, United Kingdom, 2015 Text by Jean Roussen and illustrations by Emmanuelle Walker
This alphabet book of birds is inhabited by a flock of extraordinary, vividly coloured feathered animals. A large format volume, it is beautifully crafted, the typography restrained and extremely elegant in both typeface and hues. The result is a vibrant picture of a natural and imaginary world.
LA MÉGALOPOLEL’Agrume, Paris, France, 2015 Text and illustrations by Cléa Dieudonné
Unfolding this unusual accordion-format book, the reader discovers a large city, little by little, plane after plane, starting from high up and gradually moving downwards. A 3 metre vertical reading experience, the story begins in the clouds and ends up underground, passing through a wealth of joyful events and details, each a story in itself.
LE CASE DEGLI ALTRI BAMBINIOrecchio Acerbo Editore, Rome, Italy, 2015 Text by Luca Tortolini and illustrations by Claudia Palmarucci
There are as many different lifestyles as there are customs. This book invites the reader to learn about different worlds, all viewed from the domestic setting. Not only explained by the text, difference is also shown with the images that take their cue from a host of artistic and illustration references. Rather than objectively explained, the world’s different households are described in terms of their human relations, features, atmospheres and the stories behind the people.
