Picture Books about Life, the Universe, and Everything
Sometimes you stumble upon a book that seems like it knows something.
Every now and then, you stumble upon a children’s picture book that is so specific and arresting in its poetry, integrity, and visual splendor, you get the impression it has tapped into something true and mysterious about the actual universe we live in, and how it works. I don’t really know how to explain it. You just get a sense that there is a secret to how the universe should be or actually is behind all the noise we create, and somehow this book knows that secret, and has tapped into it.
I think one of the first books that clued me in this this idea is OVER THE ROOFTOPS, UNDER THE MOON by JonArno Lawson with illustrations by Nahid Kazemi. The images gave me a sense that when every tear is wiped from our eyes and the cosmos is spread before us in its revealed glory at the end of our days, it will be something like this. It may just be a clue to how things really are behind the veil of this world.
(Clicking on these images will open them in Instagram, where you can see a selection of pages from each book.)
A few other books that give me this enigmatic spidey-sense about the universe are these ones…
OUTSIDE IN by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby shares the same paradoxical thread of outside and inside as OVER THE ROOFTOPS, UNDER THE MOON. Does this mean something? Is this important?
NON STOP by Tomi Ungerer is one of those masterpieces of melancholy surrealist glee that seems to give you an inkling of not only how the universe works, but what we’re actually doing here.
TIME IS A FLOWER by Julie Morstad has a vintage but timeless quality that feels like it could have been made in the ‘60s or ‘70s as easily as it could have been made today. Its a stunning work of art.
…and my most recent discovery of a book like this: BIG AND SMALL AND IN-BETWEEN by Carter Higgins, illustrated by Daniel Miyares. I’ve been checking out other books by these two, and they are all delightful, but this one is particularly brilliant.
Have you ever stumbled upon a book like this?
Here are a few books from my collection of picture books that speak to me in a similar way: "Maybe" by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Gabriella Barouch. "The Fiddler of the Nothern Lights" by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, illustrated by Leslie W. Bowman. "Mother Earth and Her Children A Quilted Fairy Tale" by Sibylle Von Olfers, illustrated by Sieglinde Schoen Smith, translation by Jack Zipes. "The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken. --Amy