Meet the illustrator Binette Schroeder 1939-2022

"To make a good illustration is to be in yourself, to find yourself," she once said, adding, "I paint for the little girl from the past who is still inside me."

Binette Schroeder was born in Hamburg, Germany. After studying graphics at a Munich private school, she studied at the University in Basel for design. Lupinchen, her debut, was an artistic breakthrough. Her artistic oeuvre was awarded the Special Prize of the German Youth Literature Prize in 1997, and the Grand Prize of the Academy for Children and Adolescent Literature in 2004. Binette Schroeder died on the 5th July 2022.

Schroeder’s visual worlds are surreal and fantastical, filled with atmospheric colour gradations, patterns and diagrammatic illustrations — influences from her experience as a graphic designer.  Japan Times

Here is the last book by Binette Schroeder published in March, 2022.

Here is the Kirkus review. 

Mr. Gray thinks his neighbour--the colourful and cheerful Frieda Frolic--is unbearable. She whistles while gardening and happily romps around with her miniature pig. All of this bothers Mr. Gray who only enjoys thinking about his beloved numbers. Then one day Frieda Frolic's bright yellow canary barges into his home. It's an outrage! But when Mr. Gray falls under the spell of Frieda Frolic's wonderfully gray eyes; he soon discovers there's more to life than numbers. Binette Schroeder tells the story of an unlikely couple with humour and charm. In bold, bright illustrations, she shows us what we gain when we open ourselves to chance and let colour into our lives. Best Books for Schools

Here is a Pinterest of her art. And here is another set. And this blogger shares even more images. 

And I found this stamp from her book The Frog Prince:

This image comes from Lupinchen.

The doll Lupinchen is very lonely and very sad. To cheer her up, her friend Vogel Robert invites two of his best friends over, the clever box man Herr Klappaufundzu and Mister Humpty Dumpty, the shy Englishman in the shape of an egg. Klappaufundzu boastfully snips a house out of paper where they want to celebrate a party. But when a storm comes up and puts them all in danger, it's the shy Mister Humpty Dumpty who comes to the rescue. 

Here is a list (in German) of books by Binette Schroeder:

Lupinchen (1969)

Archibald und sein kleines Rot (1970)

Florian und Traktor Max (1971)

Lelebum. Eine gereimte und bildhafte Elefantengeschichte (1972)

Ratatatam. Die seltsame Geschichte einer kleinen Lok (1973)

Rommelebom: De avonturen van een kleine locomotief (1973)

Krokodil Krokodil (1975)

Die wunderbaren Reisen und Abenteuer des Freiherrn von Münchhausenwie er dieselben bei einer Flasche im Zirkel seiner Freunde selbst zu erzählen pflegte (1977)

Zebby-Bücher (1981)

Die Schattennähmaschine (1982)

Das träumende Haus. Ein Gang durch die Nacht (1982)

Tuffa-Bücher (1983)

Beauty and the Beast. Mme Leprince de Beaumont (1986)

Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich (1989)

Die Vollmondlegende (1993)

Engel und anderes Geflügel. Ein Adventskalender zum Malen, Basteln und Schnippeln (1997)

Laura (1999)

Ritter Rüstig & Ritter Rostig (2009)

Der Zauberling (2014)

Bilderbuch-Brunnen (2019)

Herr Grau & Frieda Fröhlich (2021)

Beauty and the Beast

You can read more about Binette Schroeder in Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature, Volume 46, Number  4, 2008, pp. 5-14

I trust children’s imagination, which sees and understands much more than we adults can begin to suspect. If this is the case, then what rich potential for future understanding of art and culture is already there in very young children!

Bookbird 2007 Volume 45, Number 3 Dr Robin Morrow: ‘Surreal’ Picturebooks Binette Schroeder and Anthony Browne

If you are ever lucky enough to visit the International Youth Library in Munich there is a room dedicated to Binette Schroeder.