THE 7 MOST BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN'S BOOKS
that you must, want, and will have
I am crazy about children's books and I have quite a few at home. And no, I don't have children, but I am extremely sensitive to pictures, illustrations, and pop-up artworks, not to mention that all other books often have such boring covers that they just don't fit well in a nice interior. You can already read it here; I can spend hours with them. Since it's Children's Book Week, I’m putting together the absolute most beautiful books so you can make your nephew, niece, daughter, or son incredibly happy with the very best. Or yourself, of course, just as easily.
The Great Golden Winter Book
I almost always give a Golden Book as a gift to someone. Yes, even to adults, because it’s just so sentimental. My interns had never heard of the Golden Book, and if that’s the case for you too; shame on you! They are huge old-school books with fantastic imaginative stories and the most beautiful illustrations. In a gold cover, of course. And this winter book is a collection of the most beautiful stories and also contains those lovely illustrations. So winter really isn’t that bad.
The Great Golden Winter Book, €15
Il était une fois by Benjamin Lacombe
This book has been sitting here in the office for exactly one day because May bought it for her kids. So I was eyeing it for 8 hours and I almost succeeded, but in the end, she put it in her own bag. But not before I had examined it from front to back, looked at all the illustrations, and made up a story for it myself. It’s actually a French story and I don’t understand much of that, but the fact that incredible roses and beautiful castles unfold says enough.
Il était une fois, €25.40
The Little Mermaid by Robert Sabuda
Bring out the creative side in yourself, because this is truly a paper artwork. The fairy tale of the little mermaid is recorded as a pop-up book, and every time you turn a page, a piece of art pops up. Very special. Besides the fact that there are just way too cool pop-ups, each spread also has secret windows and exciting surprises. Oh dear, you can really spend hours with this.
The Little Mermaid, €27.99
Animal Opposites by Petr Horácek
I’m staying in the realm of pop-up books. This is also one of those must-haves. Especially if you have a child who loves animals. A peacock that fluffs its feathers, or a hedgehog that sticks out its spikes. Color, sound, and surprises come to life on every page.
Animal Opposites, $11.54
Bugs by George McGavin and Jim Kay
Last pop-up book of the day. An insect book usually sounds incredibly dull, but this one is just cool. You learn something about the lives of the little creatures, and on each spread, there’s almost one crawling out of the book. Even I have come to appreciate pests more because of this.
Bugs, $14.55
We Have a Kid! by Marjet Huiberts
Voted Picture Book of the Year 2016, I think this is a pretty clear story that it had to be mentioned. I bought it for friends who had a second girl last year and I now read it almost every time to exhaustion when I visit. But it remains fun. Partly due to the illustrations by Iris Deppe, which are truly fantastic.
We Have a Kid!, €13.95
Project Prep
You were probably waiting for this last book, but you understand that I really had to mention Project Prep in the list. I had the honor of creating the illustrations for this way too fun story about fashion and technology, the honor of presenting the first copy to Queen Máxima and popping the champagne because another 15,000 copies have been sold. So yes, I would say be the next one. This is just an absolute must-have for all time.
