Escaping…

Cole, Tom Clohosy. Wall. Somerville, Mass.: Templar Books, 2014.
In 1961, families found themselves suddenly separated by the Berlin Wall. East Berlin was under Communist rule and people were not permitted to cross the wall and join their relatives in the West.  In this evocatively illustrated picture book, a young boy is determined to find a way for his family to be reunited. Told from the first person point of view and based on true stories, Wall is recommended for readers 8 years old and up. (Artists interested in seeing how to depict night-time scenes may appreciate analyzing the illustrations which were created digitally but provide ideas for working with pastels.)

More picture books for artists

More stories set in Europe

More stories about conflicts since 1945

“Thar she blows!”

DaCosta, Barbara. Mighty Moby. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2017.
Beautifully designed. Powerfully illustrated. Wondrously retold with a new ending. A perfect bedtime story for listeners 6 to 10 years old. 

Every word – except one – in this picture book is taken from the original version of ‘Moby Dick’, written by Herman Melville and first published in 1851.  Learn how to write your own ‘found’ poetry

Learn more about this amazing picture book

More picture books created with mixed-media collages

More books illustrated by the award-winning Ed Young:
The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
Nighttime Ninja
Tsunami!
Twenty Heartbeats
The Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella Story
Wabi Sabi 

More classic stories