Category Archives: size

Leo Geo And His Miraculous Journey Through The Center Of The Earth

7 January 2013

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Hello and happy 2013 and welcome back to this little corner of the internet!

And a huge hello to those of you who hopped on board over the last couple weeks! It’s nice to have you.

Here’s an awesome and odd little book to kick off the new year:

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by Jon Chad

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I promise not to use bad puns like, “This book rocks!” or “Perfect for kids who don’t take science for granite!”

Much like another favorite, Sky High, Leo Geo uses size and scale in such an unusual way. Telling a story about a journey through the center of the earth calls for a different visual method than the standards we are used to.

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So flip it 90 degrees and read top to bottom. Of course! Its width (or lack thereof!) perfectly frames the skinny tunnels and canals through which our ‘surface man’ drills.

And just when you get to the center, flip it 180 degrees and read bottom to top as you emerge with him to the other side of the world.

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Throughout the entire journey, Leo Geo narrates his trip with a good healthy dose of science. You’ll get reminders of the difference between stalactites and stalagmites, what  makes up the continental and oceanic crusts, and how many miles you would have to travel before reaching the core.

Even though his voice is conversational and funny, every once in a while you might run into a Quadclops or find a magic dagger. I love that this book becomes a spectacular combination of nonfiction and comic book.

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By using only black and white, the reader gets to fill in the blanks and let their imagination run wild. The contrast between the whites of the tunnels and the black hash marks of piles and piles of fossils provide a very satisfying balance. The art is so intricate that I imagine a young reader (or an old one!) could pore over these pages for hours.

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So yeah. This book rocks.

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Sky High

13 December 2012

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by Germano Zullo, illustrated by Albertine

(Originally published as Les Gratte-Ciel in Switzerland in 2011.)

This book was just published in the US in late November, but I have had my claws on it since this summer. I know.

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But! It’s so fantastic that I didn’t think it was fair to show it until you had a chance to get your paws on it, too.

And I highly recommend snagging this one. It would make a perfect gift for anyone who veers into the land of quirky and oddball sensibilities. Or anyone who loves art and architecture. Or anyone who loves picture books. Or color. Or has tall bookshelves.

Pretty much anyone.

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This is a story of dueling home renovators. Neighbors. Just your average Joes with fancy names and fancier cars.

When Agenor-Agobar Poirer des Chappelles (!) adds a gold solid door, Willigis Kittycly Junior brings in a marble column inlaid with diamonds. The two pile on the one-ups – keeping up with the Monsieurs.

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White space on the tall pages gives the homes physical space to grow. Also? I felt my own brain stretching to new fantastical and imaginative heights. Just when I thought I loved this book as much as possible, a chihuahua celebrates his third birthday with 400 guests.

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A wardrobe with 6,000 suits! A stuffed Bengal tiger! A Venetian mirror!

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Sky High is a lovely cautionary tale, peppered with wacky surprises and perfect illustrations. And on top of all that, (HA – get it?) it’s just as beautiful on the outside. I almost love that it’s too tall to fit on my bookshelf. More time to gaze at the warm gray and yellow of the cover. Just another tiny, portable art gallery in picture book form.

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rapido

Rapido’s Next Stop

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by Joëlle Jolivet and Jean-Luc Fromental; published in English by Abrams Books For Young Readers.

Rapido’s Next Stop is slightly odd, sure, but it’s wholly mesmerizing. Its size and heavily weighted cover and pages are the first indicators of something a bit unusual.

The title page reveals a list of Rapido’s deliveries, and slyly asks you to join him on his route.

No, really…join him on his route! Following his red van on each page leads to the discovery of flaps to lift and riddles to solve. Remember those items from the title page? Each of them is delivered, but its word is replaced with a symbol. The rhyme on the flaps is sometimes a bit rusty, but I’d blame that on translation. Even still, it’s entertaining and smartly done.

The reader gets to work in this book, helping Rapido at each stop, and puzzling out the riddle as well. That experience, paired with the oversize nature of this book, leads to a very tactile interactivity.

And the color palette! Oh man. I adore Joëlle Jolivet’s strong style. The thick stroked black lines, filled in with vibrant and saturated hues (but not too many!) are so beautiful. (And her book Coloriages is just plain whoa. My rusty French tells me that means coloring pages? It’s a lift-the-flap coloring book, with the same weighted black lines and it is stunning.)

I love that there isn’t too much color to compete with the hustle and bustle of Rapido’s city. The rhythm and pattern and noise of the city is enhanced by the color, rather than confused by it. Here’s one full (drop dead gorgeous) spread:

And the colors used? Red, Green, Blue, Orange. That’s it. Red and Green are complements, as are Blue and Orange. They live directly opposite one another on the color wheel.

That’s so yesterday’s color news. Have you ever heard of a tetrad color scheme? Sure, everyone knows complementary, maybe even analogous, but if you’re ever at a cocktail party and need to sound really fancy, just drop some tetrad knowledge on them.

If you place a rectangle or a square onto the color wheel, the colors at the resulting corners can be used to create a tetrad color scheme.

Boom. Red, Green, Blue, Orange. It’s balanced, pleasing, and increases the amount of color contrast found in just a plain old complementary color scheme. Perfect for Rapido’s ride.

(And now Rapido has made me hungry for fancy French breakfast.)

Boy + Bot

4 June 2012

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words by Ame Dyckman + pictures by Dan Yaccarino

{Why yes, they ARE a match made in heaven!}

Boy + Bot is an endearing tale of friendship between a charming and unlikely duo. Their generosities to one another when the other is broken will turn you into a puddle awwwww mush on the floor.

The #spotbot crew on Twitter is probably still mopping themselves up. We ADORE this book. And darn if Ame Dyckman isn’t the most likable gal at the party!

In design, size can be used to give extra weight or value to one element versus another. If shapes on a page are too uniform in size, they compete for your attention. Think of a checkerboard. Which square do you look at? But think of the American flag. The long stripes and the smaller stars differ in size and scale, and your eye can move around that icon a bit more freely and with less confusion.

So small Boy and his much larger Bot create a dynamic duo. Boy’s bitty-ness and Bot’s bigger-ness gives an interesting visual edge to their friendship. Sure, this is slightly different than a true graphic design principle at work, but the same idea feels really satisfying in their characterization. Even on the cover, the word Boy and the word Bot nod to their sizes by using different weights of the same typeface.

Their kooky friendship fits perfectly into this comic or storyboarded style of layout. Note even here, the different sizes of illustrations on one spread.

This might be one of my favorite back covers ever. I do love the reflection, {found on this cover as well,} but come on….the barcode on Bot’s behind? Impossible not to love. Enjoy this one with your BFF.

Will you love it? “AFFIRMATIVE!”

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

14 March 2012

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by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

This is one of those books that was constantly checked out of my little library in Virginia. How can you blame the kids? The cover is both creepy-crawly and funny, and the guts of this book are filled to the brim with pictures and facts about animals and their body parts. {And, any book that has something called a blue-footed booby inside is sure to be a winner. Trust me.} Not to mention that pretty silver Caldecott Honor Medal on the front…I wonder if Steve Jenkins willed himself a Caldecott by mimicking a circle in that scaly tail? A stretch? Maybe, but all those circles sure do look nice.

I know better, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to read this book without wanting to touch the pages and feel the roughness and texture of the collaged paper. The texture of the animals creates enormous contrast with the stark white of the rest of the page. These animals will absolutely jump off the page if you’re not careful. Their texture gives them such vibrance and life.

And just like in Actual Size, Steve Jenkins uses size (duh…) masterfully to create contrast. This makes for incredibly exciting page turns. On each question page, the animals’ body part is seen up close, and on the page where the answers are explained, we have zoomed out to see each entire animal. The playfulness in using size both furthers the story and provides great visual interest. Caldecott well deserved, I’d say.

But. One of his layout choices makes reading this book extra fun, and that element is Line.

The text is connected to its appropriate animal in a meaningful (and sometimes especially cute) way. It could have been easy to lay down the text in a center justified block next to each animal. The same information would get into the brain of the reader, sure. Instead though, the text exists in a space that is relevant to its particular animal. The horned lizard who squirts blood out of his eyes has, well, text squirting out of his eyes. And the skunk, who lifts his tail to spray his stink, sprays out text instead.

And that’s the beauty of this book! The pictures are gorgeous, the space left behind is intentional, and the information in the text is visually relevant to its accompanying image.

An ABC Of What Art Can Be

9 March 2012

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{written by Meher McArthur; pictures by Esther Pearl Watson; designed by Catherine Lorenz}

This little gem came straight from the home of Van Gogh’s Irises: The Getty. If you are an art teacher {ahem, essbee…} or an art lover {ahem, YOU!}, you should probably get your hands on this book.

It’s a jaunt through the alphabet with a celebration of art at every single page. Each spread has a unique style, so each page turn is incredibly satisfying. Kudos to the art explaining the art!

The size of this book is striking. It’s long and skinny (and hard to get a photo of!) which is refreshing and eye catching. And shape…can you see (sort of!) the heart in the negative space of the hands? What a perfect image to correspond to the text: “making all sorts of things with the hands and the heart.” {PS: What does it say about me that I thought of the Justin Bieber heart/hand/sign thing when I saw this for the first time? Maybe don’t answer that. Never say never.}

And the texture varies from page to page, but it is used masterfully. I love the paper cutouts on this illustration. Doesn’t it look like the slightest wave of a hand would rip those green trees right off the page? Beautiful.

Naturally, a book about art gets the art absolutely right, but I was especially excited by the typography. Typography isn’t one of the elements of design, but it is an integral part of cohesive, stunning, and successful design.

An ABC of What Art Can Be uses a hand drawn typeface.

I love this as a design choice because it supports the handmade and organic processes of art that are highlighted in the book. While any number of typefaces could have been lovely, one with an imperfect quality really enhances the pictures.

And a fun bonus at the end…arts and crafts and tips for creating your own masterpieces at home. Cool.

While definitely an untraditional choice for me story wise, this book has EVERYTHING I love…pretty pictures, fun words, vibrant colors, and a whole heck of inspiration.

 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

14 February 2012

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It’s no secret how this story ends. You’ve heard it a million times. But have you ever seen look this remarkable?

Jeremy Holmes is the graphic designer behind this book, and it’s so much fun to hold.

It’s tall and thin, so even before you get to the story, you are already experiencing this book in such a fresh way. This book showcases many elements of design beautifully, but I would consider size one of the highlights because it is so immediately striking.

The middle third of the book contains the pages of the story, so the entire story is framed by the little old lady’s spindly stocking feet and all knowing eyes. And again, you know how her story ends, right? At the close of the last page, her eyes shut as well. Kinda ingenious.

Jeremy Holmes’ collages are both warm and kooky thanks to his textures and color palette. His imagination tells a familiar story in a fresh way. And it’s just plain fun to hold this book, turn the pages, and even laugh at her untimely end.

Love the shout out on the back cover to book design as well as illustration!

{This trailer is a tad slow and perhaps even creepy, but it’s a really lovely look at some of Holmes’ illustrations in There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.}

Willoughby and the Moon

9 February 2012

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by Greg Foley

{I didn’t realize until today that I bought a signed copy from Hennessy + Ingalls. So cool.}

Willoughby Smith could not sleep.

Anxious, restless Willoughby discovers that the moon is just outside his bedroom door, and quickly comes to the rescue of a snail who can’t find his favorite silver ball. The snail is afraid of even more things than Willoughby. Willoughby faces his biggest fear with confidence, and gains a whole crowd of friends in the process.

This book made me do a double take. It’s slightly unassuming, but then, just in the right light, it sparkles. The illustrations are primarily black and white, but rivers of glossy silver pack quite a visual punch. The pages are rich in texture; the silver shines alongside its matte black and white counterparts. Also, in addition to flat color, halftone patterns pepper the shadows for an extra layer of lovely. In design, contrast refers to the differences in two elements. Black versus white is a stark, simple, and highly effective design choice.

In Willoughby and the Moon, black, white, and silver perfectly echo the night adventures of Willoughby and the snail. Nighttime is a monochromatic world, and Willoughby’s sparkle is in the silver. Color would have been the wrong choice for this book.

Greg Foley’s design choices complement the story perfectly. They also guide the reader’s mood and prepare his heart for Willoughby’s nighttime adventures.

One final design not to miss:

The back cover may not be an obvious location for dynamic illustrations, but how clever is this? The back cover is the flip side to the front. The moon now occludes the title, and you see the silver shelled snail, left in the moon dust as Willoughby travels back to his bedroom. You have also travelled to the moon and back, just in time for bed.

Actual Size

14 January 2012

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Steve Jenkins’ concept for Actual Size is simple. Showcase creatures at their actual size. Truly. Right there on the cover is a teeny pygmy mouse that fits just snug up against a gorilla thumb.Smaller animals fit nicely in the frame, but some are way too massive to fit in the confines of the book’s pages. And that is the spark and fun investigation of Actual Size.

Did you ever look a giant squid in the eye?

How many dwarf gobies do you think fit in that squid’s eyeball?

Even before I studied graphic design, I was drawn to the cut paper collages of these illustrations. Don’t you just want to hug on that ostrich’s neck? So tactile and inviting.

I just looked at size in my most recent post, LMNO Peas, and it’s another clear choice here. And, well…uh…the title is Actual SIZE. But in this book, the goal is for the reader to interact with the pages, to compare and contrast sizes among different animals. And just how big is your hand compared to that gorilla’s? The illustrations in LMNO Peas use size to guide layout and movement within one page, and Actual Size tackles size to guide contrast.

Ever wonder why there are only SEVEN elements of design and a million billion trillion pictures and images in the world? (No? Just me on a lazy Saturday night?) Well that’s why. Seven foundational elements that can combine and solve problems differently in those million billion trillion ways.

His teeth are so massive that it takes a three page foldout to show them all! Chomp.

The adorable little pygmy mouse lemur is the size of my keys. {Can you spot my Burbank Public Library key tag under there? I think I owe them $3.00.}

I love a good elephant. Always.

And just in case you needed any more convincing about how incredible this book is, how about a pictorial glossary of all the animals scaled to fit? Thank you, Steve Jenkins, for making a picture book that is just as informative as it is beautiful…even if it doesn’t fit on my bookshelf very well.

LMNO Peas

10 January 2012

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LMNO Peas by Keith Baker is a clever and fun romp through the alphabet. But these are no mushy boring peas; each one is busy and has a very specific job to do.

The  A peas are acrobats, the  I’s are inventors, and the P peas are painters, poets, and plumbers.

Even though it’s a fast paced read, be sure to take your time through the pictures. Little gems are tucked away across each of the spreads. Have you ever wondered what a pea looks like while doing yoga? {They smile and wear sweatbands.} What do peas search for down in the mines? {Diamonds and…ladybugs.}

The bustling peas are in stark contrast to the giant letters which they represent. It’s a perfect illustration of size as a design element. Size refers to the relationships of one shape to others in the same composition. The greater the difference in size, the greater the visual interest of a composition. If the peas and their letters were roughly the same size, you would be unsure where to look; all of the elements would be competing for your attention. Instead, there is a huge (literally!) difference between the size of the letter and the size of the peas.

The bold letters loom large on the page in bright, textured colors. Though small, the peas are not lost in the composition at all. Each spread is dynamic and interesting, and because of that, your eye meanders through the elements to explore and breathe it all in.

LMNO Peas is successful for many other reasons, but Keith Baker’s mastery of the element of size is to be commended. And how appropriate, because peas are so bitty and tiny?! They may be little, but they pack a big punch.

Just look out for the outlaw peas. They are hanging out in the bottom corner and taking all your money. You’ve been warned.