Meet the illustrator Paloma Valdivia

A visually stunning, gently restrained picture book that should be high up on readers’ lists. 

Kirkus Star review

I found a quirky little book called Up Above and Down Below (2011) on my last library visit. It caught my eye because the cover was so different and also people tend to call Australia the land down under and on world maps we are near the bottom although it is easy to reverse this as a map is of course only a representation. Read a review of this book here. 

Here are the end papers from Up Above and Down Below:

Paloma Valdivia is a Chilean author/illustrator who studied design at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Chile and has a Master’s in Creative Illustration from the Eina School of Art and Design in Barcelona. Her work as an author has been translated into 12 languages. Here is an interview with Let's Talk Picture Books. Paloma Valdivia was short listed for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen award in 2024. Here is her Instagram page. 

Here are some of her books:

This is a page from Book of Questions

This in an illustration from the book And so it goes.

You can see more of her art here.

And so it Goes Kirkus Star review comments: Life and death are a mystery, and so readers are reminded to treasure their time here. Sophisticated concepts are visually explained while still leaving room for interpretation; repeat visits bring added depth and dimension. On the closing page, the girl, slightly older, returns to her chair and the book, with her loved one still close and dear. A tribute to those who pass, a celebration of time here, and a multilayered rumination on the cycle of life.

Read about Nosotros Means us here.

Here are Paloma Valdivia's illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood - they look so interesting and different.