#554 of 1001 · February 5, 2022

I’m engrossed by the allegorical power of drama and pathos in Everyman for Every Child by Werner Thuswaldner and Julian Crouch. The story explores such universal concepts as greed, fear, love, and death. A rich miser known as Everyman is stalked by death incarnate as punishment for his pride and avarice. Only by reconnecting with the good deeds of his past can he shield his soul from the devil and achieve peace. The text, translated into English by Pamela and Gregor Thuswaldner, presents the deeply philosophical story in starkly simple terms for a young audience, while Crouch’s art depicts the proceedings as a production on a grand operatic stage. A note on the text: The book is adapted from Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s 1911 German-language play Jedermann. Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes (“Everyman. The play of the rich man’s death”), which in turn draws from sources such as the fifteenth-century Dutch morality play Elckerlijc and its sixteenth-century English adaptation the Somonyng of Everyman. #life #death #love #money #angel #devil #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks