There are few things I love more than a good picture book. As I’ve moved around as an adult, I’ve ditched most of the novels, memoirs, and poetry collections I’ve loved, but I’ve refused to let go of the picture books. It’s not just nostalgia that keeps me holding on (I found many of my favorites as an adult), or necessity (I don’t have kids), but an admiration for the way picture books manage do so much so quickly, all while maintaining an illusion of simplicity.
“Picture books need to squeeze a narrative arc into at most 40 pages, and tell the story in less than 800 words, so every word counts and every image needs to be contributing to the whole,” says Portland illustrator Kate Berube about her own carefully distilled creations. “A picture book is kind of like a poem; every word is thought about.”