Tomi Ungerer has published over 30 children’s books alongside a career as a graphic artist creating advertising campaigns for clients including Willy Brandt and The New York Times. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award for illustration.
Although I’ve seen Tomi Ungerer’s work online and featured in other publications I hadn’t viewed one of his own books so I was excited to see this new book from publisher Phaidon. Aimed at 2-5yr olds it features bold, bright colours and fantastical illustrations that combine to create a visual game of hide-and-seek.
Snail, Where Are You?
Tomi has incorporated the swirl of a snails shell into a wide variety of illustrated characters, instruments, objects and scenes. The best aspect about this approach is that Tomi seems to have had the freedom to let his imagination run wild and in turn he’s created some wonderful creatures and unusual scenes.
Tried and tested
Luckily I have a young ‘book tester’ at hand; my 3 year old daughter. She enjoyed looking at the artwork and quickly caught onto the idea of looking for the familiar swirl shape hidden within the illustrations. Seeing her searching for the shape and the sense of achievement she had when she found them was great. It really made her interact with the artwork in a new and exciting way. Definitely a recommended book for any 2-5yr olds you might know.
See if you can see the snail in the following photographs!
