Meet the illustrator Clotilde Perrin

Last weekend I visited one of our independent bookstores here in Sydney - The Constant Reader. How lucky are we to have a shop like this - with one whole store just for kids! One of the staff showed me a few of her new discoveries and among them were several books by Clotilde Perrin - we both gushed over the fabulous books available from Gecko Press and talked about how wonderful that they translate books from around the world into English for our readers. (Scroll down on this link to see her Gecko Press titles). The bookseller especially loves the delightfully named book The Kerfuffle. I have added it to my Pinterest of books that feature walls. 

Here is a quote from Clotilde Perrin's web page: I was born in the Vosges in France. My father made paper by hand, my mother drew. And in this mountain, you can meet wild beasts as well as imaginary beings. The dark fir trees of the Vosges forests have inspired me more than once. I also have fantastic memories of reading Arnold Lobel's "Porculus," John S. Goodall's "Jacko," Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and Michael Ende's "The Neverending Story." I was also terrified by the monsters of Etienne Delessert and the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. Thus began my journey into images and the desire to share them.

Clotilde Perrin is an illustrator and author living in Strasbourg, France. She has published over 30 books including the international lift-the-flap bestseller Inside the Villains. Here is her Instagram page.

In this interview with Books for Keeps Clotilde talks about her book The Remarkables. 

Two of the books that I saw that 'blew my mind' were these although I am not sure they can really be added to a school library - better as gifts for an individual child:

Bookseller blurb: An extraordinary pop-up book that reveals the secrets of the most famous fairy-tale villains-the giant, the wolf and the witch-with interactive flaps, a twist on well-known tales, and personality cards for each villain. Lift the flaps to see the diabolical thoughts inside the villains' heads, what hides beneath their disguises, or the victims of their last meals (now comfortably settled inside their stomachs!). Read all about each villain on their personality card, which shows strengths and weaknesses, pastimes, physical characteristics, their best meal and-of course-their favorite books. And if the wolf bites your fingers while you're reading, you can always pull his tail... 

Read the Kirkus Star review. This book is huge/tall - you might get a shock when you see it. 

Bookseller blurb: Are you lost? Come in! You’re in luck there’s no one here just now Shhh… Be as quiet as you can, and very, very careful! In The House of Madame M, we explore a strange house: hallway, living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Each room is full of surprises to make even the bravest shiver. Are we in the house of an ogre? A witch? Something else altogether? This visit to Madame M’s brings the thrill of finding what lurks in the wardrobe, behind the door, tucked under the furniture. Full of humour and detail, it will mesmerise readers of all ages. This book has 25 flaps, pull tabs and other secrets hide jokes and spine-shivering surprises.

The most, and best, (pop-up) haunted house in decades. Kirkus Star review

I haven't talked about this book here but I have seen this one from 2014:

A very fine working of story, information, art and culture. Kirkus Star review

Here is a partial book list of titles by Clotilde Perrin (Note some may only be available in French). You can see all the titles here:

Heart of a Witch (November 2026)

Blades of grass (August 2025)

The confusion (April 2025)

Such cute ogrillons (November 2023)

The Remarkables or the most amazing children I have met (October 2023)

Ha! In a monstrous game of hide-and-seek (October 2021)

Inside the suitcase (October 2020)

Madame M’s House (October 2019)

Hurry, hurry, hurry! (October 2019)

Gotcha! – A Funny Fairy Tale Hide-and-Seek

Carnival of the Animals by Marianne Dubuc

The title of this book did mislead me but in a good way. I immediately thought of the famous music Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns and so I thought this book could be linked to the 2026 CBCA slogan A Symphony of Stories. I do have a small collection of picture books that feature this famous piece of music in a Pinterest collection. 

I picked up this book by Marianne Dubuc at a recent charity book sale. It was published in 2012 and so is long out of print. This book is fun, but it does not readily relate to the famous music or the book week slogan. 

The elephant dresses up as a parrot

The parrot dresses up as a tortoise

Each double spread in this book shows an animal and then on the next page the animal is seen in fancy dress. Australian children will laugh over the platypus and everyone will enjoy the final party or carnival scene. I have put illustrations here are from the French edition of this book.

Carnical of the Animals was considered for the Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration. The English version is called Animal Masquerade (2012). It was named an Outstanding International Book by the USBBY.

Marianne Dubuc (born 1980) is a talented Canadian writer and illustrator. She creates wonderful books for children. Marianne lives in Quebec, Canada. She was born in Montreal. She studied graphic design at the Université du Québec à Montréal. This helped her learn how to design and draw. Her very first book was La mer (2006). It was later translated into English as The Sea (2012). Her second book, Devant ma maison, became very popular. It was translated into more than 15 languages! Today, her books are available in 25 different languages around the world.

I previously talked about these books by Marianne Dubuc:

Up the Mountain

The Lion and the Bird

The Bus Ride

Here the CBCA 2026 poster:

Meet the illustrator Barroux

Image source: Painted Words

Stephane Barroux was born in Paris, where he lives now but he grew up in Morocco. He studied photography, art, sculpture, and architecture in France at the famous École Estienne and École Boule. He went on to work as an art director in Paris and Montreal. While in Montreal, Barroux began illustrating by creating linocut images, and he is now well known for his children’s book illustrations. Barroux has won many international honours, from the 2005 Prix Enfantasie to the PEN award and the Prix Médecins Sans Frontières in 2015. His sensitivity to the problem facing humanity and the natural world is reflected in many of his books, including Line of Fire with Michael Morpurgo, and Alpha with Bessora. Most recently he has illustrated Hello! A Counting Book of Kindness, by Hollis Kurman. Love Reading4Kids

Take a look at his wonderful art on Instagram. 

I don't speak or read French and this book is out of print but I would love to see this:

Here are some books I have talked about previously:

Welcome

How Many Trees?

The Red Piano

Kirkus said: Dazzling collage, pencil and paint illustrations from Barroux create a beautiful chiaroscuro of tension and release. Well-controlled expressive marks portray the young musician's isolation. 

The limited palette of black, white and red—the latter of which is used to create a sense of intensity—

is evocative of Communist China propaganda. 

Here are some other books by Barroux you might find in your local or school library. Nearly all of these are currently still available:

His book The Run has a Kirkus Star review. 

Beginning with the jacket art, Barroux expertly propels readers through this fast-paced picture book. The cover shows a group of animals crowded at the spine as a very young child runs to the right, compelling readers to open the book. ... The speaker remains offstage for several spreads, continually asking why the animals are running. Are they being chased? In a race? Pursuing a special treat? 

Yellow, Pink, Red, Green, Blue - popup board books by Aurore Petit

A rubber duckie . . . a raincoat . . . a ray of light! Infants and young readers will delight as these objects jump off the page in this unique “first colors” 

and “first words” pop-up board book.

There's a new little baby boy who has arrived to bring great happiness into the lives of the family of a friend of mine.  Yesterday I caught up with the new little man - he is now ten weeks old. I have of course given his and his mum and dad a selection of books and I was utterly thrilled to hear they are reading to him every day!!! I couldn't resist this pop-up book when I saw it in a city bookstore. The yellow raincoat page delighted the grandmother of this baby and she immediately burst into the raincoat jingle "wear a yellow raincoat when you're out in the wet" from her own childhood. 

Gecko Press bio: Aurore Petit was born in 1981 in France and currently lives in Nantes. She graduated from L’école des Arts Decoratifs in Strasbourg in 2006. She works with children’s books and illustrates for magazines and media, and has worked on books and stage design. She won the Millepages Prize in 2019 for A Mother Is a House. You can see some of her French titles here. 

Infants and young readers will delight as these objects jump off the page in this unique “first colors” and “first words” pop-up board book. These sturdy, small board books are absolutely perfect for little hands, but the clever and surprising images will appeal to all ages. Each spread is printed in black-and-white, but the six playful pop-up objects are filled in with a bold pop of color—a novel take on high-contrast books! Thames and Hudson

See Yellow and Pink in action on Instagram. I do hope we see all of this series in English Yellow and Pink arrived here in March, 2024. Pink - What is pink? A cat’s tongue . . . a sunrise . . . a lollipop!  

I see Red and Green are due here in Australia in September and they are a great price at less than AUS$15 thank goodness. [I saw a different and very appealing board book this morning on social media for over AUS$37]. Here are the French titles:

• Jaune POP
• Vert POP
• Rouge POP
• Rose POP
• Blanc POP
• Bleu POP
• Orange POP
• Noir POP

Meet some special illustrators

Image source: Christine Roussey

My friend and I decided to compile a list of our favourite illustrators. If you have ever read her blog at Kinderbookswitheverything you will know she is a Teacher-Librarian with outstanding knowledge of books and authors and illustrators and ways of sharing these with students. Her list has over 100 names so I thought for this post I would list some that were either new to me or that I knew because the book covers were familiar, but I didn't know their name! The purple links will take you to the illustrator's own web page. 

Eliza Wheeler

Her newest book will be published in November - What Rosa Brought by Jacob Sager Weinstein illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. 

A picture book about a young Jewish girl fleeing Nazi occupation with her parents. Drawing on the childhood experiences of the author’s mother, this story of family, immigration, and identity shows the boundless power of love. Vienna, Austria, is the only home Rosa knows. While her parents work at their store, she plays with her grandmother, reads her favorite books, and climbs trees. But when the Nazis arrive in 1938, everything changes. Rosa’s family is Jewish, and the Nazis’ new laws make it dangerous for Jews to live in Vienna. Rosa’s parents can no longer run their store. Soon, some Jews decide to leave the country, and Rosa wants to go, too. But where would they go? And what would Rosa be able to bring with her?

Gianno Marino

Christine Roussey

Lauren Tobia

Jason Chin

Here is an interview with Jason Chin.  I read Watercress in a public library recently. I was with my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything. She started to talk to me when I finished reading but I just had to put up my hand to stop her. I needed a minute or two to process my deep emotional reaction to this award winning book. Sadly here in Australia Watercress costs almost Aus$40 so I am unlikely to find a copy in a school library. See inside some non fiction book illustrated by Jason Chin here. 

Chih-Yuan Chen 

Read more about Chih-Yuan Chen here. 

Rafael Lopez

Little Pea's Grand Journey by Davide Cali illustrated by Sebastien Mourrain

Little Pea designs stamps. He has stamps with pictures of his friends the insects who live around his tiny home. He has stamps with pictures of tomatoes and cars and flowers but today he is out of inspiration. Little Pea decides to build a plane and take a grand journey. Unfortunately his tiny homemade plane crashes. Fortunately he did pack a parachute. Little Pea finds himself in a new place with unusual plants and unfamiliar insects but they make him welcome. Eventually he knows he must go home. Kindly his new friends make him a new plane. 

When he arrives home Little Pea has all the inspiration he needs for his new stamps.

Image Source: Thames and Hudson

Read this review for more plot details: Each page is joy-filled, with Little Pea celebrating a birthday with the insects, working on his many eclectic hobbies, and riding on a scooter made using a matchstick for a handlebar and buttons for wheels. Canadian Review of Materials

I should also mention Little Pea loves to collect bottle tops - just delightful. 

This book was first published in French with the title La grand voyage de Petit Pois. The English translation is by Sarah Khun.

I love the mission statement/philosophy of the publisher Milky Way:

Milky Way Picture Books is a new independent imprint dedicated to illustrated children’s books, located near Montréal, Canada. In our house, we believe it’s never too early to nurture the idea that books are special spaces in which to experience and share moments of beauty. By sparking a child’s interest in literature, storytelling, illustration, and art, we hope to make the act of discovering books something they’ll want to repeat.  Our mission at Milky Way Picture Books is to stimulate children’s passion for beautiful books.

One of the things I love about writing this blog is the way I make book discoveries. I now find Little Pea's Grand Journey (2017) is the second book in a series:

The tiny tale of Little Pea 2016 - "When he was born, Little Pea was tiny. Teeny-tiny." His clothes were hand sewn by his mother and his shoes were hand-me-down doll shoes. As he grew older, Little Pea enjoyed climbing tomato plants, driving around in his wind-up car and riding on the backs of grasshoppers. But then Little Pea started school. And he suddenly realised just how small he was. Too small for his chair. Too small to play the flute. Too small for gym class. What would become of wee Little Pea?

Little Pea's drawing school 2021 - Discover Little Pea's Drawing School, where everyone is about to learn an important lesson about art, even the teacher!Little Pea is now an accomplished artist-everyone knows it. One day, a friend of his encourages him to open a drawing school. What a marvellous idea! Soon, his first class is ready to attend his lessons, and everyone is working hard to improve their skills and techniques. Little Pea will learn that one does not always recognize a great artist at first glance.

Here are some other terrific books illustrated by Davide Cali