How about starting the new year with a colorful, clever and fun read?

At around 8″ x 8″, My Pictures after the Storm looks like a board book. A quick glance inside and the content also looks like straightforward board book fare. Simple illustrations are coupled with short descriptions. Don’t be fooled! Take a closer look and you’ll soon discover that there is more to this little book than meets the eye.

My Pictures after the Storm comprises a series of two-page before-and-after scenarios: 16 in total. On the left-hand page is the “before.” Always titled “My Pictures,” various items are illustrated on this side in bright, bold colors. In the first scenario, they include a slide, ice cream cone and pail. On the right-hand page, the same items are shown “after” an event, in this instance “after the storm.” The slide is now upside-down (and so is the text that labels it); the pail has become a puddle and the ice cream is no longer a cone but gone! Such is the power of a storm to transform a tranquil seaside scene into something entirely different!

But it’s not just a storm that changes the “before” into the “after.” So too does a magic wand, a big bag of potato chips, recovery from a bad cold, and a trip to the hairdresser. Eric Veillé’s hairdresser is nothing short of a genius. Who else could turn a big scary lion into a little scaredy-cat? Or a wily dog into a woolly dog? Although I suspect credit is also due to Daniel Hahn’s deft translation of the original French here.

My Pictures after the Storm is undoubtedly clever. Its unique concept, quirky illustrations and superior word play will have adults and older readers chuckling from start to finish. But the book’s intended audience of toddlers and preschoolers will also find plenty to enjoy in the fun before-and-after scenarios, especially with an enthusiastic adult or caregiver by their side to explain the visual and textual nuances. My tip: check out the facial expressions in the illustrations! Who knew that googly eyes could have so much potential?!

My Pictures after the Storm is definitely not a bored book. It’s smart, bold and witty, and a fabulous little addition to anyone’s bookshelf.

My Pictures after the Storm
Written and illustrated by Eric Veillé
Translated from French by Daniel Hahn
Gecko Press, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-776571-04-8

Reviews: Kirkus (starred review), The Horn Book (starred review), Publisher’s Weekly (starred review), School Library Journal

You can buy a copy of My Pictures after the Storm here or find it in a library.*

*Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission at no cost to you.

Laura Taylor is the founder of world children’s literature blog Planet Picture Book. She is a small business copywriter, NAATI-certified translator of French into English and member of AUSIT. When she is not writing, she is reading and spending time with her two young children. She occasionally tweets @plapibo and posts at www.planetpicturebook.com