Corinna Luyken‘s 2017 picture book The Book of Mistakes is great.
It does something rare: it is directly didactic, teaching clear and specific lessons, but at the same time it is rich with whimsy and wonder.
Luyken does this by using her own mistakes in her artwork as the starting point, building on these mistakes to create images that don’t just work, but are at times breathtaking.
The first lesson is that everyone makes mistakes, the second that mistakes don’t ruin things, and the third that things can contain mistakes and still be wonderful.
Part of that wonder is the pace. Another part is the design. The first page is all white except for the words “It started.” The second page is white except for a simple drawing of a balloon or face, or face on balloon, balloon-like face, or face-like balloon. Then it builds, slowly, a few words or lines at a time. This creates a lot of forward motion, and the rich, intricate later pages rewards this anticipation.
