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Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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THE BOOK OF MISTAKES

Corinna Luyken

Zoom meets Beautiful Oops! in this memorable debut about the creative process, and the way in which "mistakes" can blossom into inspiration.
One eye was bigger than the other. That was a mistake.
The weird cat-cow-frog thing? Well, it made an excellent bush.
And the inky smudges...they look as though they always meant to be leaves floating gently across the sky.

As one artist incorporates accidental splotches, spots, and misshapen things into her art, she transforms her piece in quirky and unexpected ways, taking readers on a journey through her process. Told in minimal, playful text, this story shows readers that even the biggest “mistakes” can be the source of the brightest ideas—and that, at the end of the day, we are all works in progress, too.

Fans of Peter Reynolds’s Ish and Patrick McDonnell’s A Perfectly Messed-Up Story will love the funny, poignant, completely unique storytelling of The Book of Mistakes. And, like Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, it makes the perfect graduation gift, encouraging readers to have a positive outlook as they learn to face life’s obstacles.

Corinna Luyken grew up in different cities along the West Coast, and after studying at Middlebury College, she settled in Washington State, where she draws inspiration from nature, her family, and the human form. She got the idea for The Book of Mistakes by doing art activities with children in schools. This is her debut book.
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Book

Published 2017-04-18 by Dial Books

Book

Published 2017-04-18 by Dial Books

Comments

BookRiot (437,456 uvpm) mentions the book in its “New Releases and More for April” podcast and Red Tricycle (1.18 million uvpm) will include the book in an upcoming summer picture book round-up. Read more...

This is going to be a tough debut to beat as Corinna Luyken has set the bar very high for what is bound to be a new, modern classic.

At once philosophical and imbued with adventurousness, this picture book lifts to the level of the sublime the idea of putting one’s slip-ups in perspective.

Methow Arts Magazine (circ. 12,000) features the book in their March issue and says it is “destined to become a modern classic.”

Catalan & Spanish: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial ; Chinese (simplified): TB ; French: Kaleidoscope ; Greek: Brainfood Media ; Italian: Fatatrac ; Korean: Flying Star Books ; Portuguese (Portugal): 2020 ; Turkish: Acar

Seven Impossible Things interviews Corinna about her inspiration and artistic process. Read more...

Design of the Picture Book gets a behind-the-scenes peek at the creation of the book and talks to Corinna about how she wrote and illustrated the story. Read more...

A striking debut picture book celebrates the creative process. Careful looking will be rewarded with surprising, often funny details in the art, which invites poring over...It would be a grave mistake not to pick up this picture book.

Mistakes in art—as in life—happen, and Luyken shows young readers in a glorious way how they often lead to bigger and better outcomes than anyone could imagine.

Babble (4.69 million uvpm) includes the book in a “31 New Picture Books Your Kids Will Beg to Read Over and Over” round-up and says, “It’s so important for kids to learn that mistakes happen, which is why we’re utterly obsessed with The Book of Mistakes.” Read more...

Brightly (92,255 uvpm) highlights the book in its Summer Reading Guide and praises, “This book is a great way to help your children understand that anything can be turned into something beautiful.” Read more...

The idea of setbacks being opportunities in disguise is no stranger to picture book pages, but rarely has it been illuminated with such style, imagination, and compassion. Read more...

A visual feast with intricate images and imaginative concepts to explore. Brilliant inspirational book! Belongs in every classroom, library, story time, and art studio.

One thing’s for sure, this will lead kids to see their own so-called mistakes in a new, more positive light.

..quite the odyssey, one that takes readers on unexpected paths, opening minds and perspectives.

I will read this book to every group of students I teach for the rest of my career. …This book is absolutely magical.