CONTENT Greetings
01 - 04
The meaning of KOKONI
05 - 08
Our Mission
09 - 12
Edintor's Column
13 - 16
Exhibition News
17 - 20
Festival News
01 - 04
New Books
05 - 08
Worldwide News
09 - 12
Technique of the Issue
13 - 16
i. Contrast ii. Eric Battut- Libero come l'aria iii. Barroux- Where’s the Elephant? iv. Shaun Tan- The Rabbits v. Wolf Erlbruch- Duck, Death and the Tulip vi. Anne Herbaut- What Colour is The Wind?
How Asian Illustrators use the technique of the issue? i. ii. iii. iv. v.
17 - 20
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5
Book Reviews and Recommendations
17 - 20
i. Rules of Summer ii. Where’s the Starfish? iii. Welcome!
Author’s Interview: Vivian French
01 - 04
Illustrator’s Interview: Helen Stephens
05 - 08
It’s Time to Play!
09 - 12
Gallery i. Karin ii. Yivon iv. Katie Library i. Boris ii. Jie
Notes
05 - 08
What's Next?
09 - 12
[This is a sample of th If you would like to support this project, pleas You can also pre-subscribe the first issue of
Greetings
A picturebook is not only for children, but also for adults. While children can learn to see the world through reading a picturebook, adults can learn to experience the world from different points of view. A successful picturebook contains beautiful illustrations and text (or no text at all), and also has multiple meanings for readers to ponder. Reading a picturebook is more than to understand a story: it is playing a game, or solving a riddle. Besides reading picturebooks, we could also acquire information about picturebooks from magazines. There are some magazines about picturebooks available, but do they meet our expectations? Can those magazines help us understand more about the nuances of picturebooks? Could there be a different magazine about picturebooks? You can find the answers to above questions in Kokoni Magazine.
The Meaning of KOKONI
Kokoni magazine focuses on the making of picturebooks. We analyse the techniques of making picturebooks and we enjoy the process. By doing so, we invite all our readers to experience the wonderful universe created by picturebooks. Kokoni magazine aims to inspire and motivate students and children and change the education environment, then make the world better. Kokoni means ‘here’ in Japanese, we want to lead people to a new world ‘from here’ by enjoying picturebooks. The magazine is produced by PIED studio, and PIED stands for Picturebooks, Illustrations, Education and Design.
Our Mission
Based on many educational researches and opinions of teachers, illustrators and authors, reading picturebooks can help lear ning and living. Yet, how to read a picturebook thoroughly? Can we learn more from reading a book, more than what the authors and illustrators are trying to say? What Kokoni will do is to discuss more about picturebooks, to dig deeper and to analyse techniques and stories, and to create picturebooks with readers. In the end, we all can see the world from different perspectives, we all be able to tell our stories, to share our lives, and to make changes.
e of the magazine. please leave your name and contact details. ue of the magazine for only 3 pounds.]
Editor's Column
This issue we are going to talk about ‘Contrast’. Contrast is a popular and widely used technique. From Cave Paintings to Vincent van Gogh, from Eastern to Western, from ancient artists to contemporary designers, contrast might be the easiest recognised and used technique when making images. Where did the concept of Contrast come from? Can we utilise its concept in our life? Follow us and let’s explore more about contrast!
The Most Wonderful Thing in the World
Written by Vivian French Illustrated by Angela Barrett Published by Walker Books, 4 Jun 2015(UK) ISBN-13: 978-1406339680 Published by WordField, 7 Jun 2017 (Taiwan) ISBN-13: 978-9869420297
[This is a sample of th If you would like to support this project, pleas You can also pre-subscribe the first issue of
Author's Interview
Between Left and Right: The Contrast in The Most Wonderful Thing in the World What is the most wonderful thing in the world to you? When I started to read this book, I immediately fell into the story. It starts as a traditional fairy tale, but it has a romantic and honest ending. The princess in the story is different from the conventional princesses: she bravely explores her own life. The king and the queen are also different: they are open-minded. When the open mind meets the liberal explorer, what would happen? The princess is discovering the world, she sees many beautiful things with her eyes, she goes to every corner of the kingdom with her feet; yet, I am sure that, she definitely sees a lot of other things, things are not so good, and the experience would make her open-minded. The same to the king and the queen, they must have seen many other ridiculous or hilarious things, as well as pretty and valuable things; but nothing can fulfill their criteria. They are looking for something important to their daughter, something that will exist for a long time. This is a story about love and life, it talks not only about happiness, but it also points out some other social issues, such as war, materialism, etc. The book offers all readers an opportunity to ponder and discuss about love, life, happiness and the most wonderful thing in the world. Not only Vivian’s story is beautiful, the illustrations by Angela Barrett are extremely attractive. You can always find secret clues in the images, and those clues will help all readers enjoy the story more. Once you start to read those images, you can easily be a part of the story world. In order to experience the fantastic world in the book, we are going to deconstruct the illustrations and to be inspired. We are very lucky to have the author Vivian here to read the book with us, and to share her understanding and discovery of the illustrations. I am sure it will be amazing!
Notes
e of the magazine. please leave your name and contact details. ue of the magazine for only 3 pounds.]
The Contrast in the Most Wonderful Thing in the World 1. Colour 2. Gesture 3. Position 4. Place 5. Surroundings
By Boris Lee
Author's Interview: Vivian French Boris: Hello! Vivian! It’s very nice to see you! Vivian: Hello! Boris! Good to see you too!
one spread, Angela said she wanted to draw different things, so I had to modify the original story.
Boris: Thank you for this beautiful book, I love the story and I also found some clues in the images, when I found those clues, I am so thrilled! When you saw these illustrations for the first time, what were you thinking? Vivian: I am glad you like the book. When I saw these beautiful pictures, I was so excited! They are so elegant and detailed, and also imaginative. I am very happy to work with Angela, she’s so talented.
Boris: As a picturebook author and illustrator, I always think illustrations and text can tell two different stories, and when you read them together, you can read the third story. Vivian: Yes! Correct! And the truth is, the illustrations can tell more than the writing description. When you are reading a picturebook, pay attention to the details in the images, those details could expand your understanding of the story world. And always remember, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’.
Boris: I agree! So when you saw the illustrations, did you already have the story or did you write the story after the illustrations have been made? Vivian: When I saw the illustrations, I had only a very rough story idea. So the text of the book actually was created following the illustrations. For example, in
Boris: Yes, I always remember that you said ‘Show, Don’t tell’. When I was reading the Most Wonderful Thing in the World, I found out the illustrations were created a drawing technique- Contrast, not only the colour contrast, but also the contract of symbols.
For example, in the first spread, the king and the queen stand in the right page, and there is a girl in the left page, alone and remote. Is that the princess? Vivian: Yes! That is the princess. As you can see, this image shows the contract between the royal parents and the princess. The king and the queen are standing in the garden, which looks like a maze. It represents their thoughts, because they are confused and they are worried about their daughter’s future. It is a strong symbol, and you can look the trees behind them. Those trees are ordered, and the order represents the rule of
the king and the queen. And it is interesting to compare the princess to the royal parents. In the image, the princess is painting, she is surrounded by ordered columns.
that the princess is creating her own future.
Again, the order means the rule, and the place also indicates that the princess was brought up in a organised life. However, the princess is painting, and painting is a creative activity, she is in her own thoughts. It could mean
[This is a sample of th If you would like to support this project, pleas You can also pre-subscribe the first issue of
Author's Interview
Boris: So this first spread demonstrates the difference between the princess and her parents, and it is very interesting to know that the surrondings are relections of the characters’ inner worlds. This reminds me of Symbolism Paintings. Moreover, the text doesn’t mention what you have said above, it’s so brilliant! Vivian: Yes. It is excited to be able to understand the whole story when you combine the images and the text.
In the second spread, it is an obvious contract here. The left page shows the royal parents are writing a letter. The right page shows an old man is writing a letter too. The layout of this spread implies that they are writing to each other. They are facing to each other, it creates an infinite unseen interaction. You could even imagine there are tons of letters between them. Furthermore, the left page is indoor, the right page is outdoor, do you see that? Boris: This is smart. Does this arrangement mean their thoughts again? Vivian: Yes. The royal parents are more conservative at this phase, and the old man is more open-minded. Sometimes, you need only a little so you can tell more. Less is more.
VIvian's Tips: 1. 2.
Show, don’t tell. Less is more.
e of the magazine. please leave your name and contact details. ue of the magazine for only 3 pounds.]
Boris: But it is difficult to achive. When I am making picturebooks, I always worry that my readers may think it is hard to understand my stories if I don’t explain comprehensively. Vivian: I know, it is always hard to be concise. But just like a poem, it is definitely beautiful. Picturebook is another form of poetry, don’t you think?
Boris: Yes, I am totally agree with you. Let’s see the next page. Here we can see a colour contrast in this spread. The left page is dark, and the right page is bright. Vivian: And all three royal family are in the bright side. The king and the queen are talking, and the princess is listenting upstairs. They look like in the same world, but they are still in different places. There is no ‘meeting point’. It could refer to their thoughts about their futures. However, all three of them are in the birght side, which could mean their life is full of hope, or their future is optimistic. Boris: I also notice that the palace is quite empty. Unlike my understandings about a royal palace, their palace doesn’t have any decorations. It makes the left page empty and dark. In your opinion, what could that suggest? Vivian: I think, it might indicate that they are not materialism? As readers read to the end of the book, they will realise the notion of the story, which is definitely not wealthy. And here, it could be a clue for readers to find. Boris: I see. Like the previous spreads, the surroundings play an important role again. This image asks readers a simple question: What can fulfill you? In the next spread, the image could have the strongest contrast of all the images in the book. The colour contrast, the position, the surroundings…
[This is a sample of th If you would like to support this project, pleas You can also pre-subscribe the first issue of
Author's Interview Vivian: Yes. In the left page, the princess is walking out from a huge gate, and the walls are very tall. The walls create a big shadow, it’s edge is the boundary between the princess’s life and the boy’s life. She’s walking out of the shadow towards the bright side, it means she is walking into a whole new life with hope and happiness. The gesture of the princess and the boy also indicates their identities. Boris: I think the most insteresting part of this illustration is that the bright side world looks more lively, more energetic. Vivian: Yes, indeed. You can see there is a canal, and it is a symbol of journey. This image doesn’t only show that the princess is going to start a new life, but it says the princess is going to have a new life with the boy. Boris: Every sign is worth paying attention to!
What is your note:
e of the magazine. please leave your name and contact details. ue of the magazine for only 3 pounds.]
Postscript
This is a sample issue of our magazine. Please leave your names and contact details on the appendix form for the information about the formal issue. Please support us by pre-subscribing the first issue of the magazine for only 3 pounds, or 5 pounds for the magazine with limited postcards.
Afterword and about the project What is a picturebook? It is hard to define. Generally speaking, a picturebook is an illustrated book, in which the illustrations are as important as text (sometimes the illustrations are far more important, and sometimes there is no text at all), and the typical picturebook is also children’s book. Nowadays, picturebook is becoming more vital in children’s life than before, and some researches also show that it is good for adults to read picturebooks. According to The Bookseller, ‘the children’s yearly market value has increased by £120m over the last 10 years, a jump of 44%’, and ‘the pre-school and picture book sector saw growth of 8.5% to £129m in 2016’. The market is growing, which means we need more and more picturebook authors and illustrators to create good works. To meet their learning needs, we create Kokoni Magazine. Kokoni Magazine is a guide for everyone to enjoy and learn from/about picturebooks, a platform for creators to showcase and promote their unpublished works, and a bridge between creators, readers and publishers. It focuses on the art of creating picturebooks. In every issue we discuss one technique of making picturebooks, and we choose 5 picturebooks with different themes and use the technique to deconstruct them. We will invite the authors or/and the illustrators to enjoy the chosen
picturebooks with us, and share their knowledge with all our readers. Furthermore, Kokoni magazine will carry students’ and illustrators’ unpublished picturebooks as series, we want to build a connection between them and publishers. Except the above two chapters, our magazine also has book reviews and recommendations, news about exhibitions and book fairs, DIY steps, etc. Additionally, we offer online content and digital magazine for our readers. The online content contains free videos about picturebooks, the life of illustrators, and visiting exhibitions. Our readers can also find free tips of writing stories and drawing illustrations in our online resource. Kokoni Magazine aims at enjoying reading picturebooks and sharing the knowledge of making good
Special for You Foreword
Together with Kokoni, we enjoy picturebooks and share our love for the world. When I was studying at Edinburgh College of Art, all I wanted to do was making picturebooks. During my 21-month study, although I finished 8 books, I found out that there are no guidelines for students like me to follow to create good picturebooks. I discussed this issue with my friend as well as a talented graphic designer LiangLiang. After our observations and surveys, we realised many students (me and LiangLiang included) want to know how a good picturebook is made, hence Kokoni Magazine is born. Kokoni Magazine focuses on the process of creating picturebooks. We not only explore what techniques that students and picturebook makers can use to create picturebooks; we also talk about how to deal with difficult subjects in children’s books. Kokoni Magazine is a new type of magazine, it combines virtual and physical experience, it connects business and social responsibility, it links learning and playing. Kokoni means ‘here’ in Japanese, we lead people to a new world ‘from here’ by enjoying picturebooks. We aim to share good picturebooks with every reader, to promote good unpublished picturebooks, and to enhance readers’ critical thinking skill and creativity.
KoKoNi Magazine Boris Lee
&
LiangLiang Chen