Opposites

by Larissa Honsek

Overview

Short and tall. Happy and sad. Hot and cold. Globally famous artist Larissa Honsek's adorable clay figures help little ones identify the difference in these important concepts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641701433
Publisher:	Familius
Publication date:	08/01/2019
Pages:	20
Sales rank:	542,218
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Larissa Honsek is a Berlin-based graphic designer, photographer, and illustrator who loves to explore the intersections of these fields. Her tribe of bright and colorful characters is born out of experiments with a multitude of mixed-media elements: clay sculpting, photography, digital and analogue collaging, painting, drawing, printing, and scanning.

Editorial Reviews

2019-11-24
Anthropomorphized clay creations demonstrate oppositional pairs.

Whether these clay creatures are rolled into a round, "SMOOTH" ball or a "SPIKY," hedgehoglike blob, Honsek imbues the colorful chunks of inanimate clay with a whole lot of personality. Though helped along by digitally rendered round, sparkling googly eyes, small, black smiles, and expressive eyebrows, the clay remains more abstract and symbolic than representational. Since there's only the strikingly minimalist full-bleed backgrounds setting off the representations, the clay depends on little touches, such as differently sized eyes or a folded-over piece on a "BIG" flattened circle that implies hair, to lend personality and charisma. Portraying 11 different opposites, counting a set on the back cover, most of the concepts are clear and understandable. A representative pair shows a "LONG" purple snakelike creature meandering across a teal double-page spread juxtaposed with a "SHORT" blue wormlike one. Occasionally the duos delve into sophisticated use of color and shape theory, like a golden "HAPPY" critter with corners splayed outward contrasting with a slumped, droopy blue "SAD" one, though "HOT" and "COLD," shown as a bright crimson flame and a spiky snowflake creation, may be too abstract for younger readers to easily interpret.

Simple yet sophisticated, this board book is fun from start to finish. (Board book. 1-4)

Kirkus Reviews