A terrific picture book on the review docket today! Thanks to the kind folks at Owlkids Books, I have the pleasure of talking about Zo-O’s almost-wordless picture book Corner. Happy reading!

Written and illustrated by Zo-O, with English translation by Ellen Jane, Corner marks the Korean author-illustrator’s first book published in English. A fantastical and eye-catching picture book, Corner opens on a crow sitting in the corner of a room. But there is a slight visual twist: the corner of the crow’s room is marked by being the centre of the book where pages meet! So no matter what pages a reader turns to in the book, the corner stays where it is. What changes within the story, and what changes over the course the story is what the crow makes of their corner- what happens on their journey to brighten and create something in and of their space. As the corner starts to appear more lively- with a plant, more colours, light, books, and more- readers see that there might be something other than decorations that the crow is also missing.

I absolutely adore picture books which take a concept (whether an interactive element, something tactile, or a layout feature like Corner) and weave it into or make it a part of the story. Zo-O has used the physical layout of a book to work a truly unique and fantastical story about creativity within. A recipient of starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly, as well as additional solid publisher reviews, Corner is definitely a book to check out! For readers who love and appreciate their stories with washes of creativity and wonder, along the lines of Lizi Boyd, Suzy Lee, David Wiesner, JiHyeon Li, or those who enjoy wordless (or almost-wordless!) picture books, Corner is a truly lovely, standout visual story. Bonus: For interested readers, there is a wonderfully in-depth post- with pictorial sneak peaks!- featuring Zo-O on Let’s Talk Picture Books!

I received a copy of Corner by OwlKids Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. Title has been published and is currently available.