Since the late 19th century children’s books have been a favoured means of expression for designers, who find in them a field in which they can be truly creative. They often develop the narrative and design themselves or produce the illustrations in close collaboration with the writer.

This exhibition is presenting roughly 180 children’s books from more than 25 countries dating from the end of the 19th century up to the present day. It draws on the rich holdings of the museum, which has collected and exhibited children’s books since its founding.

The show’s first section presents the history of the children’s book, introducing national and international developments and design styles to visitors. In the second section four different design approaches are displayed: special uses of colour, focus on letters or shapes, altered perspectives, and expansions into three dimensions.

Carina Deuschl’s interactive architecture allows the books to be studied by visitors of different heights in house-shaped cabinets. Lecterns and benches provide places in which selected books can be studied at length.

The exhibition is enriched by comments from contemporary designers.

Wall drawings that reflect and comment on the exhibition’s themes were specially created for the show by Christoph Niemann. Alluding to the exhibition’s title, in his drawings he also plays with the pairing and opposition of lines and planes. More of his drawings on the balustrade serve as a guide to the show’s thematic groupings.

Six short animated films take up the design approaches of the exhibited books and develop them further in new illustrated stories of their own. They were produced for the exhibition by students at the University of Münster’s School of Design under the direction of Prof. Henning Tietz.

With more than 400 illustrations, a catalogue of the exhibition designed by Ariane Spanier and published by the Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König provides insight that goes beyond the exhibited book pages and is supplemented by texts by international experts in the children’s book field.

What makes picture books so unique are their creative and unusual illustrations, which turn every book into a work of art. From detailed watercolours and bold linocuts to minimalist drawings and digital animations – the creative range is remarkable. These forms of expression make picture books an important part of our culture and a reflection of the artistic developments of their time.
The exhibition features international works from the late 19th century to the present day. Each book is unique in its design and appeals to both children and adults. The interactive architecture invites visitors to playfully explore the evolution and diversity of children’s literature and to rediscover the art of illustration.

‘The Doll’s House’ is not just a book, but an interactive toy. When opened, a complete doll’s house setting unfolds, brought to life by ingenious pulling and folding mechanisms. The figures and furniture can be moved, cupboards open and windows move. These mechanisms demonstrate Meggendorfer’s technical skill and his understanding of children’s play behaviour.
The colourful illustrations were created using the lithography technique, which made it possible to reproduce fine details and vibrant colours. With ‘The Doll’s House’, Meggendorfer created a masterpiece that blurs the boundary between book and toy and has delighted generations of children.

In this book, each page is dedicated to a colour that is described. But instead of colourful illustrations, each page is black. On the left-hand page, the text is in Braille and printed in white, while the right-hand page shows relief-like, tactile illustrations. Cottin’s poetic words describing colours combine with Faría’s tactile images to create a ‘black rainbow’ that appeals to the senses in a surprising way.
The book, which has been translated into 18 languages, challenges readers to experience colours through touch and imagination. Red, for example, is described as ‘sweet as a strawberry’, while the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds become tangible through metaphors. In 2007, it was awarded the ‘New Horizons’ prize at the children’s book fair in Bologna.

Tan, known for his imaginative and profound stories, presents a series of vignettes – short, visual scenes – about two brothers. They find themselves in bizarre and threatening situations that are held together by a collection of ‘rules’.
A central theme in ‘Rules of Summer’ is perspective. Tan uses extreme scales and surreal scenes to show the world from a child’s imagination. One rule warns: ‘Never leave a red sock on the clothesline.’ The accompanying scene shows a giant bird hovering apocalyptically over the city – a typical shift from the everyday to the surreal that characterises Tan’s style.
The creative process behind the book began with sketches that Tan collected over the years. He decided to dispense with a linear narrative and instead let the visual power of the images do the talking. The illustrations, a mixture of pastel chalk and oil colours, create a mysterious and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.

Each of the 26 letters in ‘ABC 3D’ is set in motion using pop-up and folding techniques. For example, a ‘C’ transforms into a ‘D’ with a flick of the wrist or an ‘M’ rises majestically from the page. The structure of the book gives each letter its own stage on which it unfolds in surprising ways. As readers turn the pages, they experience a veritable theatre play of letters, supported by clear and sophisticated mechanisms.
The design of ‘ABC 3D’ captivates with a reduced colour palette of black, red and white, which further enhances the visual effects. In this book, Marion Bataille lifts the letters into a new dimension and turns them into architectural sculptures. ‘ABC 3D’ has received many awards, including one from the Bank Street College of Education as one of the best children’s books of 2009.

Her works, which she called ‘Imageries’, deliberately break away from classic narrative forms. Instead of letters and words, she used pictograms and geometric shapes to visualise stories.
In her work ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, a red dot symbolises the girl running through a forest of green dots. The wolf is depicted as a black dot approaching menacingly. This minimalist depiction tells the familiar story without words, but with emotional depth.
The book’s innovative folding design allows readers to perceive the story as a flowing movement, creating a unique sense of tension. Lavater, strongly inspired by the Bauhaus, thus created a new narrative dimension. Signs and shapes become the protagonists, stimulating the imagination and enabling an intense visual experience.

Designed in the unmistakable Art Nouveau style, it impresses with its extraordinary graphic design and the combination of image and text.
Each page of this book is a work of art in its own right, rich in ornamentation and detail. Floral patterns, flowing lines and harmonious colours dominate the design. Lore von Recklinghausen skilfully integrates the illustrations into the text so that the pictures not only decorate but also tell the story visually. The typography is skilfully embedded in the illustrations and reinforces the unity of text and image, which is typical of the book art of the time.
‘Sun, Moon and Stars’ reflects pedagogical ideas that were intended to impart not only knowledge but also aesthetic education. Lore von Recklinghausen has created a timeless work that combines Art Nouveau and fantasy in a unique way.

An outstanding example of this era is “Where the Wild Things Live” by Maurice Sendak, published in 1963. This children’s book is a masterpiece of visual and narrative art that appeals to the imagination in a unique way. The story of Max, who is immersed in a dream world full of wild creatures, breaks with traditional children’s book conventions and shows children’s emotions such as anger and fantasy as legitimate forms of expression.
The illustrations are crucial to the emotional depth of the book. Sendak uses the size and arrangement of the images to control the intensity of the story. The color palette of muted tones creates an atmosphere that is calming and slightly eerie. “Where the Wild Things Are” reflects the cultural shift of the 1960s and influenced a whole generation of authors and illustrators. It shows that picture books can also appeal to complex human emotions and remains a timeless classic.

‘Begin Again’ is aimed at readers of all ages and offers a poetic, visually stunning journey through human history. Jeffers uses bold colours and hand-drawn characters to create a vivid world. The book begins with a reflection on the origins of humanity and illustrates this with minimalist depictions of people in a world of stars and oceans. The clear, hand- painted typography emphasises the meaning of the words and blends with the illustrations.
A central theme is the question of how we got to where we are now and what we can learn from our experiences. Jeffers takes the opportunity to sow hope and challenges his readers to look at the world from new perspectives. The colour palette of vibrant pinks and purples gives the book a unique texture and underlines the message that it is possible to find unexpected paths.
‘Begin Again’ is a profound commentary on the human condition. It invites us to reflect on our history and the future we want to create. Jeffers proves that even in the 21st century, the picture book remains a powerful medium that can touch readers of all ages.