#194 of 1001 · February 10, 2021

What does it mean to be creative? Where is the boundary between the performers and the medium of their performance? How does an artist’s personal expression affect the outside world? Laëtitia Devernay’s wordless picture book The Conductor ponders these weighty questions. The story takes place in a grove of giant trees damasked with boldly graphic leaf patterns. A conductor enters, climbs one of the trees, and begins to conduct. Soon, what appeared to be leaves are revealed to be birds, which take wing and fill the air. At the close of this avian symphony, the conductor takes a bow and climbs back to earth. But, before departing, he buried his baton in the fertile soil among the tree roots...and an unexpected transformation begins. With a restricted color palette of pale yellow, lush green, and dark gray, Devernay fashions a striking interpretation of music as visual poetry. #conductor #music #tree #trees #bird #birds #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks