Oh! - Josse Goffin

Oh!

Considered by experts in Children's Literature as a reference work, "Oh!" is a wordless book that plays with double meanings, visual riddles, and, like Magritte, proves that "a pipe is not always a pipe." It doesn't tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end; however, its independent images – though related to each other – establish a chained structure between them. Arranged across fold-out pages, the first image with its counterpart together form one illustration; however, when the right one is lifted, a distinct figure is formed.

This creates a game between what is seen and what is hidden, what looks like one thing but transforms into another... This imaginative and surprising approach is joined by a panoply of illustrations that stand out for their flat, descriptive, and easily understandable nature for young children. Although it is a book for all ages, it is especially attractive for pre-readers and early readers, as it allows some to engage in free narration exercises and others to guess what drawings are hidden behind each page.

The result is that children not only identify the images but are also amazed and surprised – hence the title – when they discover the unknown part of each one; at the same time, they learn the sequence and directionality of narrative and visual reading, enhancing their imagination.

Work Details

• Author: Josse Goffin
• Publisher: Kalandraka
• Category: Children's
• Number of pages: 52
• Cover: Hardcover