Anno's Animals

ANNO, Mitsumasa. Anno’s Animals. NY: Collins, 1979. 8vo, [32]pp. Bright green boards stamped in gold. Bright green endpapers; color illustrations on every page. Slight bumping to lower spine end, minute rubbing to lower edge, else a clean, bright copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (flaps lightly aged).

First US edition, issued two years after the original Japanese edition. In this astonishingly intricate, word-less picture book, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal-winning artist has hidden dozens of animals in the details of his forest scenes. Some animals are easy to spot, but others are so cleverly camouflaged they can only be found by the sharpest-eyed of seekers. In one spread, what looks like a gnarled tree trunk conceals two cockatoos, which, viewed upside-down, reveal themselves to be part of a lion’s mane. A wonderfully rewarding picture book that reveals new delights on each examination. An early triumph from this brilliant picture book creator, who passed away at the end of last year.