In this unusual picture book the artists Katy Couprie and Antonin Louchard string together drawings, collages, photos and pictures of sculptures using a widely varying range of materials, and thus create chains of associations which stimulate the imagination and promote creative thinking. Sometimes the book is reminiscent of an internet search engine, which provides widely contrasting pictures on a specific topic. It is a book entirely without words. The stories only develop when the images are viewed and talked about. It takes a while to notice that the pictures are not simply thrown together but form little stories. The raindrop leads across to a brook, on the edge of the brook a young couple are sitting, fish splash about in the water. In this way the pictures refer to each other and provide fresh surprises again and again, enabling children to learn in a playful way how to connect pictures in their minds.
People form the main topic of "The whole world" and are shown in every conceivable way, from the embryo to the old lady. They appear on an ultrasonic scan, in a cave drawing, formed of clay or papier maché. The work shows impressively how things can be perceived, represented and seen in different ways. However, the themes are presented in an organised way, making sure that young readers are not lost in a flood of pictures. Children should be at least four years of age to be able to understand the scheme of this book – but upwards there is no age limit. Everyone will once more become a child and gaze in wonder at this book.
Katy Couprie and Antonin Louchard work as freelance artists, as well as teaching art in Paris and in the French provinces. "The whole world" has been their greatest book success so far and was awarded Germany's prize for young people's literature in 2002.
Katy Couprie and Antonin Louchard
"The whole world"