Best Children's Books in the World: A Treasury of Illustrated Stories [Hardcover]

Byron Preiss (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

This volume brings together some of the most popular recent picture books from around the globe. Each of these 16 beautifully illustrated stories and poems is reprinted with text and original art. Brief background information about the works, the authors, and the illustrators is also included. of color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What are the best children's books published in Japan? How about Brazil? This stunning collection of award-winning picture books from 15 countries gives readers an astonishing perspective on global cultures, but mostly a hearty dose of pure reading pleasure. In Oslo native Karin Bang and Danish illustrator Per Dybvig's delightful, swashbuckling The Cat on Pirate's Island, for example, you'll find reproductions of the original picture book, with its Norwegian text. The English translations--some commissioned expressly for this book--fit clearly and unobtrusively in the margins. Lushly illustrated stories from Israel, China, Sri Lanka, England, Ghana splash joyfully across the pages as well. A brief introduction to each picture book tells about the diverse countries and their fascinating storytelling traditions, as well as providing biographical information on the authors and illustrators.

The one common denominator is the stories' appeal for children. The book was created not to demonstrate the uniformity of the world's cultures, but to illustrate the range of human styles and perspectives. As historian and educator Jeffrey Garrett writes in his introduction, the collection is "an entire rainbow not only of art but of story as well, from the somber and serious to the subversive and even downright silly ... these stories are as rich and as variegated as the world of childhood itself." This spectacular 300-page treasury will have parents and children squabbling over who gets to read it next. (Click to see a sample spread. From The Cat on Pirate's Island, © 1994 Bonnier Carlsen Forlag AS, illustrated by Per Dybrig, text by Karin Bang.) (All ages)

From Publishers Weekly

around the world via omnibus A hefty coffee table book, The Best Children's Books in the World: A Treasury of Illustrated Stories, edited by Byron Preiss, compiles and introduces 15 contemporary picture books from around the world, reprinted in full with the original art. Some of the stories are translated for the first time; translations are provided, for the most part, outside the frame of the reproduced book pages. The volume includes over 300 pages of illustrations in full color, showcasing a extraordinary variety of artistic styles.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810912465
• ISBN-13: 978-0810912465
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, colourful high quality collection., December 11, 1998

By 

Nirit (Ramat Gan, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best Children's Books in the World: A Treasury of Illustrated Stories (Hardcover)

I bought this book for myself on my 28th birthday, and I simply love it!

The stories inside were selected carefully. Most of them offer a peek at the culture they were written in (like "Street Scene" from Brazil, and "The Umbrella Thief" from Sri Lanka), some are just downright funny ("The Braggart Lion" from Belgium), others are thought provoking ("The Hidden House" from England, and "All the Colors in the Rainbow" from Spain).

This book is a joy to anyone who likes children's books. It's also a big beautiful book that could be given as a gift to any family with children.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly the best, December 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Best Children's Books in the World: A Treasury of Illustrated Stories (Hardcover)

This book features multi-cultural children's stories with the most beautiful illustrations you can imagine. The stories are all high quality, ranging from fairy tales from all cultures, to witty modern stories. My kids loved reading them over and over, and appreciated the high quality of the illustrations as well. The illustration styles range from aboriginal art to highly stylized European oil paintings. Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, moving, exotic--a genuine delight, December 18, 2005

By 

Alfred E. Guy Jr. "onela22" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best Children's Books in the World: A Treasury of Illustrated Stories (Hardcover)

Preiss's collection gives parents and children a simple, exciting sampler of stories from around the world. The production values are fantastic, and my nieces and nephews have loved trying to sound out the original language text (included with English translation). This has also been one of the two most sure-fire gifts I've ever given--10/10 people have taken the trouble to follow-up with thanks and surprise. I just can't believe this has gone out of print. Snap up a used one right away.