Stop

Roger Olmos is a Spanish illustrator. One of his main works is the silent book "Sin Palabras", where he deals with veganism and animal-rights. In that, he uses illustrations in a poetical way, displaying the harsh reality of the animal industry in an almost poetical way that makes the reader stop to think.

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"Stop" is a lot less serious, it is a playful and fun book for the youngest children. But it is easy to see the artist´s love for animals in the way he portrays them. All of them are characters with big personalities, they enjoy life and interact playfully with each other. The book opens for all kinds of stories to be told. My favourite part is the race at the end, where you suddenly understand why the animals come to such an abrubt halt, very funny!  The way the looong neck of the giraffe is portrayed over four pages is also brilliant, the happy bunny and sheep...there is a lot to love!

 

When I saw this book, I was reminded of​ "Yipo" by another Spanish artist, Juan Gedovious, that has the same format. While Yipo is about monsters, they are also on the move through a leoporello, and both books have the same, brilliant solution of putting the title and necessary text on a box, so that the leporello itself is completely wordless. Norwegian readers might also get an intratextual reference to Per Dybvig´s success book "Vi står i kø" that was published last year. 

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The publishers website recommends "Stop" for 1-3 year olds. I am sure toddlers will love it, but I think this book is too much fun to only use with the smallest children. Older children should also get a chance to share the crazy parade of funny and endearing animals.