My favorite illustrated books for adults

One of the best ways to explore your worlds—connecting the world around you with the one within you—is to tap into experiences that take you back to your childhood (assuming that was a positive time in your life). And one way to do that is through looking at the books that you loved as a child.

But another approach is to read books now as an adult that you may never have seen as a child and to realize how many of those were likely written in such a way that they reveal truths to adults that kids will probably miss or at least not appreciate as much as you do.

What follows are ten such books. Are they my all time favorite illustrated children’s books? No. I have many from my own childhood that I love. But those tend to be ones like Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever that may have nostalgic value, but they don’t inform me as much as an adult.

These ten, however, may be intended for the children’s market, but as you’ll see, they work on so many levels that you can glean insights and be delighted by the illustrations no matter how old you are.

The River by Alessandro Sanna, Enchanted Lion Books, 2014

I start and end with two books that contain no words. This one is a hauntingly beautiful book all about the impact of The River in some unknown part of Italy. Having been to Italy during a flood two years ago, the images brought back many memories.

But this book goes beyond the flood showing the river through four seasons. Each season has its own feel and storyline (though part of the charm is piecing together what the story is). As with several of the books here—and one of the reasons I consider them to be for adults as much or more than for kids—this one invites you to create your own narrative about what is happening. It allows you to reengage with this and these other books over and over because, as Heraclitus appropriately (given the name of this book) said a few thousand years ago, “You can never enter the same river twice.”

The Traveler: A Magical Journey by Daniel Page Schallau (Author), James Keller (Author), Artisan, 1997

I almost included this in my last post on my favorite illustrated travel books. But it is more of a kid’s book except that it reminds you of the deeper reasons why you travel.

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers (Author, Illustrator), Philomel Books, March 4, 2010

There are so many Oliver Jeffers books I could have selected here. As with Shaun Tan (see below), he’s not just a clever author and illustrator of children’s books. He’s a brilliant artist and I am often stunned by his work in different mediums.

This book is one I think adults will resonate with even more than kids. It’s about a girl who is curious about everything. Until one day, she puts her heart in a bottle to protect it. And then she goes through life wondering why she doesn’t wonder as she once did. It takes the innocence of a child’s heart to help her find her own heart again.

As with so many of the books here, read this as an adult to remind you of all the important things in life you’ve forgotten or misplaced in the busyness of every day.

The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski, Clarion Books, 2015

I wish I’d known about this book when my children were growing up because unlike most children’s books that tell a story and maybe make a point, this one invites the reader to become the storyteller. The illustrations are lush and complex and accompany a tale of a girl whose book has lost its words and she has to find the stories and put them back. But you as the reader are the one completing the stories that she starts. It works on so many levels with Easter Eggs galore (what’s with the bunny? What’s that fox up to here?). Best of all, there’s even a twist at the end.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce (Author, Illustrator), Joe Bluhm (Illustrator),Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012

So many of William Joyce’s books are valuable to adults simply for his glorious illustrations and surprising ideas. But I’ve included this one here for all you book lovers out there who will resonate with the tale of a young man who is lost and then found, literally by books. It is an ode to reading and writing that is quite touching. It may also encourage you to head to your own nearest library and simply stare in wonder.

The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Angela Elwell Hunt (Author), Tim Jonke (Illustrator) (Author), David C. Cook, 1989

Years ago, before we had children, my wife and I attended a Good Friday service at a church near where we were then living. We’d never been there before, so we were rather surprised when the pastor started to read this book for his sermon. By the time he was done, we knew that one day we would want to read this to our children.

It’s the story of three trees who all dream of growing up to do something magnificent. One wants to be made into a treasure chest and hold valuable things. The second desires to become the strongest sailing ship in the world. The third just wants to stay where it is and grow tall and point to God.

I’ll let you read the book to see how it all ties back to Good Friday. But there’s a reason it has over 2,700 reviews and a 4.9 star rating on Amazon.

Tales: Sister Alyonushka, Brother Ivanushka/The White Duck, drawings by I. A. Bilibin, Retold in English by Irina Zheleznova, Goznak, Moscow, 1977

I had to use Google Translate to get the details because the title and author’s name are only in Russian though the story itself is in English. I picked up this book and a similar one on a trip years ago and have no other context for it. I’ve always valued this book for its incredible illustrations. If you look closely at the illustrations, you’ll see dates ranging from 1899 to 1902 which would explain the style and why even though these books came out under Soviet rule in 1977, the images predate the founding of the Soviet Union.

The main reason I love this book is because it was a double discovery for me. First, in finding it, I believe on a trip to Alaska. The second discovery happened years later when I came across it again on a bookshelf in one of our boys’ rooms having forgotten I’d bought it or put it there. And as I get more into drawing and painting, I now pull it out periodically to simply admire the exquisite illustrations, including how the artists frames the text and pictures.

The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2016

I’ve rather stacked the deck here with Shaun Tan books. The reason is that each of the books represented here are so very different and reflect his immense creativity and skill.

In this first one, Tan creates simple yet often mysterious sculptures to accompany tales from the Brothers Grimm. If you ever thought that Grimm’s Fairy Tales were for little children, you might want to read some of these and reconsider. You won’t get the full tales here, which makes each spread even more compelling. From a creativity standpoint, it’s a great example of Incompletion by giving just enough of the story for you to complete it any way you want.

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011

I said I’d stacked the deck with Shaun Tan books and this goes even further because this book is actually a collection of three previously published books, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, and The Rabbits.

Kid’s books? Maybe. But reading them as an adult will reveal so much more. Not only themes of lostness, purpose, friendship, and alienation as found in the first two, but the third is one of the most devastating takes on the impact of colonialism I’ve ever read. It’s made more powerful because the imperialists in this case are rabbits, animals we normally think of as cute and cuddly.

That is, until they multiply and multiply and take over the land.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007

I couldn’t leave you on the rather sad note of The Rabbits. So, the final Shaun Tan book is one of his biggest sellers and for good reason. The Arrival is a story of the immigrant experience (again, pretty adult themes for a children’s book), but one brilliantly captured to reflect that experience to the reader both overtly and symbolically. There are no words in this book because a person new to a country likely can’t understand the language. All of the scenes, particularly at first, seem scary and overwhelming. Everything is odd and confusing. Just as it would be to someone arriving in a new, very foreign place.

But we also see the main character, a father seeking a better life in this new country in the hopes of one day bringing his wife and daughter to join him, persevere. In a nod to what is also typical of the best of immigrant experiences, he is soon befriended by an animal (you tell me what that creature is on the cover). More common still, he encounters the kindness of strangers who aid him when he most needs it.

The artwork is incredible and the story surprisingly moving. It’s a beautiful book in every sense of the word, and a good one to wrap up this brief dive into some of my favorite illustrated books for adults.