Thinking about picture book forms

This week I have been so privileged to read the Master's Thesis of a friend entitled "Shapes and forms: Some recent uses of techniques in picture books". This thesis was written in 1990 but it is thrilling to see how many of her selected titles have really stood the test of time and I hope that nearly all of them are still available in your school library.  The thesis explores twenty forms - I won't list all of her choices here, but I have added a couple more of my own so I have a total of fourteen forms you could explore. The more I dip into this topic the more possibilities I have found such as stamping or using stamps (Jarrett and Jarome Pumphrey); dual functioning books (such as The Ribbon Le Ruban a book I long to own); clay sculpture illustrations such as Barbara Reid; photographic illustrations; narrative and illustrated nonfiction; and diorama constructions - try to find books illustrated by Soyeon Kim to see this form.

Here is a video of this book (in French)

I have listed the thesis picture book example first and then examples of my own. This thesis was originally given the title 'innovations in the picture book' but many of the forms/shapes listed are actually very old for example the popup book and the leporello. The book at the top of this post is a leporello! I do love that word (and form). So the thesis author changed her heading to Shapes and Forms.

I also need to think about where to place one of my most shared and most treasured but very obscure books:

1 is for One

1. Wordless

Up and Up by Shirley Hughes

Check out my Pinterest of Wordless Books (IBBY call them Silent books)

I have tons of favourites but I first thought of one special favourite, because it was the first wordless book I ever read, Sunshine by Jan Omerod. Thinking about more recent ones I would list Stormy by GuoJing and The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio. If you haven't discovered Peter Collington try to find his books in a library. My own favourite is The Tooth Fairy.

2. Paper engineering (pop up and die-cut or laser cut)

Haunted House Jan Pienkowski

The die cutting process is a way to create unique shapes in material. It’s often used artistically on covers to cut windows into a book or on interior pages to create flaps, pop-up structures or interesting shapes.

The master of the popup is Robert Sabuda. His paper engineering will amaze you. An older book I marvel over with amazing die cut pages is The Story of Snowflake and Raindrop. This book also fits into the category of a flip over book. More recent examples of die cut pages are found in books by Britta Teckentrup for example her book A Happy Place. You might also look for books by Aaron Becker and Su Blackwell. I recently spied this edition based on Mary Poppins with die cut or laser cut illustrations.

Read more about Hélène Druvert here.

3. Lift the flap

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill

I stumbled on Mouse's Wood by Alice Melvin a couple of years ago and now I see there are sequels. I also love the bird books by Bridget Farmer which have the sturdiest flaps and incredible art. Searching for Treasure by Johanna Bell illustrated by Emma Long made me gasp and you do need to add Who Lives here by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Rebecca Cobb to your collection. All of these books show that flaps are not just for our tiny reading companions but of course every little child does need to see and touch lots of books about Spot.

4. Flip over book (reversable)

Round Trip by Ann Jonas

I cannot cite many examples of these but I do love them. I always think of an old book - And then it Rained by Crescent Dragonwagon. Another example could be Mirror by Jeannie Baker. You don't flip this one over but readers see the action side by side in two different locations simultaneously.  An Australian example is Room on our Rock by Kate and Jol Temple. 

5. Stitching (using textiles)

The Shoemaker and the Elves stitching by C & W Birrer

I find books with illustrations made from embroidery or stitching or fabric patchwork very appealing. One UK illustrator to look for is Rachel Griffin. You could also look for The Whispering Cloth: a refugee's story by Pegi Deitz Shea and illustrated by Anita Riggio. I love the work by US textile artist Salley Mavor. I would love to own her book called My Bed. 

6. Letters in envelopes

The Jolly Postman by Allan Ahlberg (and sequels)

I have so many book forms that I adore but I think the value-added of real letters inside envelopes is one I find the most delightful. AND I thank publishers who are willing to invest money into the production of these. Santa Post by Emma Yarlett; Maisy's Christmas Letters by Lucy Cousins; Letters from Felix: A Little Rabbit on a World Tour by Annette Langen; Meerkat Mail Emily Gravett; and of course The Jolly Christmas postman by Allan Ahlberg.

7. Collage

Where the forest meets the sea by Jeannie Baker

This is an enormous topic. My friend has a terrific Pinterest on this topic and I have one too of illustrators who use collage. Apart from our wonderful Australian illustrator Jeannie Baker,I love the work of Eric Carle; Ed Young; Robin Page; David Wisniewski and Susan L Roth. You may already have a new Australian picture book called Hope is the Thing. And there are so many other names such as Rachel Isadora; Melissa Sweet; Leo Lionni; Ezra Jack Keats; Lois Ehlert; Ellen Stoll Walsh. Another favourite Australian illustrator of mine is Patricia Mullins. I was also delighted to discover this book made with illustrations made from pebbles:

Stepping Stones

8. Reality (illustrations) versus fantasy (text) or illustrations show a fantasy which contrasts with reality.

Drac and the Gremlin by Allan Baillie illustrated by Jane Tanner

Another older example is Kirsty Knows Best illustrated by Anthony Browne. I also thought of Magic Beach by Alison Lester; A House for Wombats by Jane Burrell; Suri's wall by Lucy Estela illustrated by Matt Ottley and When You're Older by Sofie Laguna illustrated by Judy Watson. I recently discovered this old book: Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. There are sure to be lots more for this category. 

9. Page turner (anticipation and a guessing game)

I went walking by Sue Machin illustrated by Julie Vivas

Eyes in the Dark by Kim Dale; An animal guessing game by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page; Who's Next? Guess Who! by Anton Poitier illustrated by Sophia Touliatou; Animalphabet by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Sharon King-Chai; and for older readers a title from many years ago - Guess What? by Mem Fox illustrated by Vivienne Goodman. I also need to mention What's Inside: The alphabet book by Satoshi Kitamura and Brown Bear Brown bear by Bill Martin Jr illustrated by Eric Carle.

10. Participatory story 

We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Participation was always the focus of my early weeks with a new Kindergarten group. We read lots of books with a repeated refrain including We're going on a bear hunt; My Brown Bear Barney by Dorothy Butler illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller; There's a Hippopotamus on our Roof eating cake by Hazel Edwards illustrated by Deborah Niland; Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina; Peace at last by Jill Murphy; Owl Babies by Martin Waddell illustrated by Patrick Benson; and The Elephant and the bad baby by Elfrida Vipont illustrated by Raymond Briggs.

11. Leporello

I added this one to the list but I know the author of the thesis enjoys discovering these. You could add tunnel book to this category too. There is one of these inside The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg. I also have a book based on Can't you sleep little bear by Martin Waddell which you fold out and join into a circle or a carousel. 

Books that have accordion-style, or zig-zagged, pages are called leporellos (or concertinas). These books can be experienced in a few ways: readers can keep the book folded and turn the "pages," flipping the book at the end to experience the other side of the book; or they can completely unfold and expand the book to create one giant, linear narrative. Some leporellos are printed on the front and back, while others are one-sided. Let's Talk about Picture books (you can see examples)

Pages of Look by Gavin Bishop Gecko Press

12. Breaking the fourth wall and the off-stage narrator

This one is also my headings and I talk about this with lots of examples here. Look for Hide me, Kipper! by Mick Inkpen; Let’s Play! by Hervé Tullet; A Squiggly Line by Robert Vescio illustrated by Kathy Creamer; Fish and Crab by Marianna Coppo; Bear Hunt by Anthony Browne; The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston; Press Here Herve Tullet; and Escargot by Dashka Slater illustrated by Sydney Hanson. Another very curious example is Zoom by Istvan Banyai.

13. A catalogue book

Imagine by Alison Lester

I love this term catalogue book as used by the writer of this thesis. It is a perfect label for so many picture books that have no narrative but are filled with things to talk about. The big question by Leen van den Berg and illustrated by Kaatje Vermeire; Things to Look Forward to by Sophie Blackall; What to say when you don't know what to say by Davina Bell illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper (and sequels); The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown; Pablo Neruda Book of Questions illustrated by Paloma Valdivia translated by Sara Lissa Paulson; If I had a little dream by Nina Laden illustrated by Melissa Castrillon; and the most obvious example The Baby's Catalogue by Allan Ahlberg.

I need to mention two more titles for this catalogue book category:

Who is the world for?

Do you wonder?

14. Poetry with pictures

Read more here. 

A Life Song

Here is a quote from the final sentence of the thesis which inspired this post (I hope you have found it interesting and useful).

The book features explored in this thesis "support the proposition that the contemporary picture book is a subtle and skillful artform. Artists, authors, publishers and most importantly readers are increasingly aware of this fact. There can be no turning back."

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

The First Noel by Jan Pienkowski

This book has a simple text - not the lyrics of the famous song. Here is the text from the first page:

"And the angel said 'Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus."

I spied this beautiful book which is filled with amazing paper cutouts at a recent charity book sale. It had no price sticker. The volunteer nominated $3 but it is still a bargain because I've seen this book listed between $15 and $28. Jan Pienkowski died this year so finding this book was quite special.  The First Noel book was first published in 2004 and reprinted in 2018. There was/is also a carousel version.

Telling the story of Christmas, as told by the Bible, this book comprises five pages, which stand together to create a carousel of red, white, gold and green. Kids' Book review

Here are two other Christmas books by Jan Pienkowski (out of print sorry)

If you love the idea of popup books especially at Christmas try to find some of the amazing books by Robert Sabuda.

The 12 Days of Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

The 12 Days of Christmas by Robert Sabuda

The Twelve Days of Christmas

There is something utterly magical about a pop-up book and Robert Sabuda is a master of the art. This book was first published in 2006. Check out my post about another of his pop-up books - The Night Before Christmas. In this video you can see inside the 25th Anniversary edition of The 12 Days of Christmas. Here is an interview with Robert Sabuda where he talks about his work.

You may have some trouble finding a copy of this book. One Australian bookseller has it listed at $60! Here is the page with the five gold rings.

The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore A pop-up by Robert Sabuda

Day Three
Christmas is the perfect time, of course, to revisit the famous poem that begins with the lines "T'was the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse."

There are so many delicious words and phrases in this poem - words/phrases I suspect you will only know if you have heard this poem, hopefully as a young child:

"visions of sugarplums"
"kerchief"
"threw up the sash"
"the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow"
"luster of midday"
"more rapid than eagles his coursers they came"
"he looked like a peddler"
"His droll little mouth"
"away they all flew like the down of a thistle"


My copy of is presented in a pop-up book. We have two Christmas pop-ups by Robert Sabuda in our school library but because the contents are so fragile we only loan them to teachers. That is why I was very keen to own one for myself so that I could share with with visiting children and adults.

I am in awe of the paper engineering made by Robert Sabuda. Many years ago I even found a box with 26 pop-up Christmas cards. Over time I posted them to friends and I now have just two left.

Here is a page from The Night Before Christmas.

Here is a video where you can see all the pop-ups from this book in action.  On his web site Robert Sabuda generously shows you how to make many different pop-ups for yourself. This could be a fun holiday project for the whole family.

Read more about the invention of pop-up books here. They are not as new as you may have imagined. How does 1847 sound?

It would be interesting to show a group of children a number of illustrated versions of this classic poem and have a discussion about which they like the best. So many very famous illustrators have added their creativity to showcase this poem. Here are some you might like to look at including two famous Australian illustrators Bruce Whatley and Robert Ingpen.  Click each name to see their books: Arthur Rackham, Charles Santore, Christian Birmingham, Holly Hobbie, Jan Brett, Bruce Whatley, and Robert Ingpen. Also take a look at this video of Barbara Reid's work in plasticine.

Here is another Christmas pop-up by Robert Sabuda.

Just had to share this one too - The Night Before Christmas Little Golden book illustrated by Eloise Wilkin and published in 1955. It is one I need to keep an eye out for. I do like gentle soft focus illustrations of Eloise Wilkin.

Just for fun I also spied a brand new book the other day - The night before, the night before Christmas by Kes Gray. Finally we do have an Australian version illustrated by the very talented Kilmeny Niland.