Psssst Psssst
By: Chiara Camoni
Publisher: Lupo & Burtcher, 2016, France
Format: Cartoned with spiral binding and removable plastic cover
An endless game of whispers
Psssst Psssst is part of a silent book publishing project called "Les cerises" ,where designers, architects, and artists are invited to make a children´s book for the first time. The books are all published as limited editions, with great variations in format and materials. Psssst Pssst is one of many exceptional silent books born from this project. The artist is Chiara Camoni, a visual artist that usually works with sculpture. She lives in the Alps, close to nature, and her closeness to nature inspires her art.
Camoni has made a book with a detachable cover. When removed, you find yourself holding a cartonated book with a spiral binding, not unlike Enzo and Iela Mari's first editions: A book without a cover or "first page", where you as a reader is completely free to start and finish where you want, at any page you prefer. It is a wonderful way to read a silent book, especially when reading with children, who really appreciates this freedom.
All illustrations are made in black ink. Camoni's close contact with nature is very visible in her detailed illustrations of the animals, . The animals are not antropomorphized or "cuteified", but very realistic: Not only the beautiful gold fish and the cute cat, but also the scary snake and a hungry eagle.
In a way, this book is like an animal version of Telefono senza fili, a game of whispers where the reader can guess what the animals are saying to each other. The fact that some of the animals are predators and others are prey add extra drama to the storytelling. Psssst Psssst is also a great book for playing with animal sounds and/or multilingual storytelling. Camino creates a forward movement by letting some of the illustrations continue from one page to another, like you can see in the two spreads below.
It is a good thing this book is printed in heavy carton, because the endless possibilities of dialogue, action and whisper games will keep the children's interest for lots and lots of re-readings.Many of the early editions of this and other Les Cerises books are now out of print, but still possible to find online, check out our online resource pages for good sites to find used silent books.
