#666 of 1001 · May 28, 2022

There’s a mysterious spell woven throughout the grandeur and finery of The Animals’ Ball by Hélène Tersac and @fredericlement. Eloise cannot sleep. She lies awake in the dark of her room, listening carefully until she can hear music. Then she creeps out, perches on the stairs, and watches through the banister bars as the guests arrive for a grand ball. Mysteriously, many of these well-dressed strangers appear to be anthropomorphic animals, and Eloise watches in amazement as they dance and mingle with the humans. Finally, when everyone else has left, her parents discover her in her perch and carry her off to bed. Tersac’s text, originally published in French as Les Loups du Bal, explores a child’s dreamy glimpse of the secret world of adults at night. Clément’s delicately surreal art is presented in tipped-in plates, illustrations printed separately and affixed to the pages of the book. #animals #ball #animal #night #bed #bedtime #dance #party #child #dream #book #books #childrensbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks