Yorinks & Egielski: a Brilliant Partnership

These two have collaborated on a number of children's picture books together (which was news to me as I thought they had only teamed up on "Hey, Al"). With Arthur Yorinks magical realism-esque stories told in short, brilliant sentences, and Richard Egielski's highly detailed, soft colored, and shaded illustrations, these two have a partnership going which is truly fantastic. The books, really, start before the title page, and with the illustrations frequently extending beyond their borders, you've got tales that masterfully transcend the page.


STARTED & FINISHED:

Yorinks, Arthur. (1980). Louis the fish. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Surreal, and, undoubtedly, inspired partly by Kafka. Louis grew up loving fish and cleaning out fish tanks for work, but, ultimately, is forced into taking over his father's butcher shop. One morning, he wakes up to find he has transformed into a salmon. A fun little tale, if not a bit bizarre - especially the double-page spread of Louis being attacked by meat wielding meat.]



Yorinks, Arthur. (1986). Hey, Al. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Winner of the 1987 Caldecott Medal, this one is a tale of a working man who lives in a tiny, bland apartment with his "faithful dog, Eddie". One morning, a brightly colored, and incredibly large, bird pokes its beak through Al's bathroom window and invites Al and Eddie to visit him on his island floating in the sky. Many beautiful and colorful animals await them there, but when Al and Eddie begin to transform into birds themselves, the two jump ship and return home. The last page with the sole sentence, "Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found", paired with the illustration of Al painting his drab abode a bright yellow, speaks volumes.]



Yorinks, Arthur. (1989). Oh, Brother. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Another tale of the "magical", although this one is much more grounded in reality than the previous two. Milton and Morris are twin brothers who mischievously cause the oceanliner they are on to sink on their way to New York. After being washed ashore they are moved from orphanage to orphanage, finally escaping and taking jobs with the circus and selling apples, both with similarly disastrous results. Ultimately, resulting to pickpocketing, they are taken in by a tailor who puts them to work. When he passes away, the brothers take over the business by posing as tiny, old tailors where they then find themselves in the Queen of England's court, and, finally, reunited with their parents. Another great one.]

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