Marc Boutavant & Sempé -- by guest Erin Jang
I adore the work of these two French children's book illustrators, Marc Boutavant and Jean-Jacques Sempé. I first discovered Sempé's...

One of my favorite children's books is Martin Pebble. There are very few words and only a couple colors in this book about a boy who is a chronic blusher (I empathize!). I love Sempé's loose linework and limited color palette -- it's beautiful to look at.



I first hired Marc Boutavant when I was at the Boston Globe, and he was so lovely to work with. I am completely infatuated with his illustrations, the funny characters and animals he creates, the emotions and stories he tells through them and the colors he uses. It is so inspiring.


