Board book / Ages 2+ / 24 pages / 18 x 18 cm / 13.90 € / September 2024
The Cat is too
Bastien Contraire
& Caroline Cruzinha
What do the snail, the elephant, the crocodile and the hare have in common? All are TOO something!
This book is a playful variation on the traditional animals wordbook. Here, the animals come to life and out of the page, and they are presented in their excess. The snail is too slow, the elephant is too big, the crocodile is too scary, the hare is too fast…
Only the cat is perfect, beautiful and quietly curled up... but it’s asleep: shake the book to wake it up! In this enjoyable book, the animals are shown in a surprising and playful way, for the reader to look at them differently. Caroline Cruzinha’s naturalist yet warm drawings play with colours and textures, giving personality to the characters of the book.
Bastien Contraire
The author
An autodidact, Bastien Contraire first developed his work through self-publishing, before dedicating himself to children’s books. It is by designing the covers of a fanzine that he co-edited that he tried out stencils, appreciated the imperatives of this technique and liked the game of superimposing layers of colours. Published in 2016, his first picture book, Les Intrus, displayed naturalist plates hiding an anomaly. It was followed by three board books, Animaux, Véhicules and Aliments. In 2020, he published Au Contraire at Albin Michel Jeunesse. At La Partie, he also published as an author and illustrator Dinosaurs, Whales and Animals. In parallel with his activity of author and illustrator, he designs exhibitions for children with an experimental and playful approach.
Caroline Cruzinha
The illustrator
After studying engraving at école Estienne, Caroline Cruzinha worked for 20 years as a primary school teacher. There, she organized residencies for children’s books authors and book festivals. Since 2020, she only dedicates herself to her work as an illustrator.
