Beautiful Endpapers in Children’s Picture Books April 26, 2022 – Posted in: Book News, Great Picture books – Tags: Bags of Books, children's book illustration, endpapers
Beautiful endpapers in children’s picture books
At Bags of Books we are, of course, surrounded by wonderful books -we love it! We love the contents of the books, the stories and rhymes, but we also love the way the books look, the illustrations and the way they are designed. Most books are well designed of course, especially children’s books, but some have little details that make them even more special.That little detail could be one of many things – a raised texture on the cover, spot varnish highlighting just a few areas of the cover illustration, or a dust jacket that conceals a different version of the cover. It could be edges sprayed a different colour, or it could be… beautiful endpapers!
A variety of beautifully designed endpapers in Children’s Picture Books.
I am a big fan of endpapers – those beginning and end pages that are stuck inside the covers of the book, if a hardback, or are the inside cover of a paperback. Sometimes these pages have information, sometimes they are decorative, and sometimes they are actually part of the story. Not every picture book has them, however we really appreciate the ones that do make use of those extra pages to show us something special.
Here are some examples from recent books, aren’t they gorgeous?
Click on the links to go to the book on our website.
The Littlest Elephant by Kate Read.
The collaged forest of trees is lovely.
Cover of The Littlest Elephant by Kate Read
Endpaper from The Littlest Elephant by Kate Read
Elephant Island by Leo Timmers.
Love the tiny rubber ducks – just one is different. The back endpapers are different and features tiny bowler hats.
Elephant Island by Leo Timmers
Elephant Island endpapers
Apple and Magnolia by Laura Gehl and Patricia Metola.
I like this one because the images aren’t in a repeat pattern, just lovely textured sketch-like drawings of elements from the story.
Cover of Apple and Magnolia by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Patricia Metola
Endpaper from Apple and Magnolia by Laura Gehl and Patricia Metola
Mina by Matthew Forsythe.
You might think that this is a repeat pattern but each mouse is actually slightly different, and you can spend time looking at each one. (I love the one carrying a pile of books)
Cover of Mina by Matthew Forsythe
Super Duper Penguin Slide by Leonie Lord.
A great example of a repeat pattern endpaper in a limited colour way, showcasing the cute penguin characters.
Super Duper Penguin Slide by Leonie Lord
Chicken Come Home! by Polly Faber and Briony May Smith.
A beautiful allover pattern made from character studies and small details of flowers and egg baskets.
The Secret Forest by Sandra Dieckmann.
The endpapers are a reversed-out version of the title page, giving an understated and pleasing effect, which is in contrast to the detail of the rest of the book.
The Secret Forest by Sandra Dieckmann
Endpaper from The Secret Forest by Sandra Dieckmann
The Tale Of The Castle Mice endpaper by Emily Sutton
The Tale of The Castle Mice by Michael Bond and Emily Sutton.
Nostalgic style, painted as if it is wallpaper in an old house.Love the little mouse at bottom right.
The Spectacular Suit by Kate Patrick and Hayley Wells.
Different endpapers front and back, and I love anything sewing-related.
cover of The Spectacular Suit by Kat Patrick, illustrated by Hayley Wells
Of course there are lots more wonderful examples of endpapers on our shelves, so many more I could have shown you. Have a look at the books on your bookshelves, what you can find? Let us know your favourites.
