『The Book of Picture Books』 is a book curation book for those who love picture books and books, covering everything from picture books to fairy tales, youth books, and adult books.
Book curator Jenim, who has been reading countless picture books without prejudice for 15 years, carefully selected 1,300 picture books from a list of over 10,000 books and organized them into 100 themes.
It contains the author's unique breadth and depth, different from the typical picture book list.
This will be a useful guide for local bookstores, small libraries, and public libraries that dream of organizing a deep bookshelf, as well as for picture book activists looking for unique picture books and parents who want their children to read a wide range of picture books.

Theme 004 - A Walk - "Slowly Alone, or Chatty Together"
I love leisurely walks, exploring all sorts of things at a slow pace, as much as I love picture books.
“I like to walk leisurely and stop whenever I feel like it.
Taking a leisurely walk through a beautiful neighborhood when the weather is nice.
And after walking all the way, meeting a pleasant object.
“That’s exactly the way I like it best.”
This is what the 18th century thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau said about walking.
At the end of his life, Rousseau took a walk to reflect on his eventful life and left behind a record of his inner reflections.
That record is the book 『Reveries of a Solitary Walker』 (Munhakdongne).
If you present a hypothetical scenario to a book lover—what if there were no books in the world?—they struggle to find any more powerful expressions: "It would be terrible," "It would be dark," "It would be unimaginable."
Likewise, there is an order that you can never walk again.
If it were to come down to me, it would be as terrible and bleak as a world without books.
Rebecca Solnit, author of "The Humanities of Walking," praises the most universal act of walking as the most philosophical, artistic, and revolutionary, and I deeply agree.
Because I can talk endlessly about the benefits of walking that I have personally felt with my body and mind while walking.
When I'm so angry that I feel like a volcano is going to erupt, the moment I open the front door and the outside air seeps in, my anger melts away. My whole body's senses awaken as I see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. My tangled thoughts become neatly organized. My mind becomes calm and enriched, and creative energy wells up. I'm not lonely because I meet another me inside me. A cat I met on a walk, a magpie, and newly bloomed plum blossoms enter my heart and bloom into a beautiful landscape...
Because of my boundless, endless, and unwavering love for walking, I always find myself magnetically drawn to books that include the words "walking" or "strolling."
Sometimes I walk alone, sometimes I walk together, on rainy days I walk listening to the sound of raindrops falling on my umbrella, and on clear days I walk with the passing clouds.
On days when it's so cold my nose is about to fall off, I find myself reading a book about walking, and before I know it, I'm walking.

Like You, Me - Written by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Illustrated by Pauline Martin, Munhakdongne
It contains the meaning of empathy in cute, round, and friendly pictures and simple, concise text.
On the left side, various animals appear, and on the right side, a child appears, and the animals become the narrators and tell stories.
Just like you, I have a loving family, just like you, I have happy and sad moments, just like you, I get scared when it's dark and I'm alone, just like you, I have my own individuality, just like you, I'm a beautiful and fragile part of this world.
Even though we may look different, we live together with our hearts beating fast.
The more I say out loud, “I am like you, I am like you,” the warm feeling of solidarity seeps in and I feel comforted somehow.
The bond of mind that places you and me side by side is the starting point and foundation of mature empathy.
--- From the text


Theme 014 - Heartwarming, Heartbreaking, and Tingling - "Calm and Then Tingling"
When you wake up, you are faced with a barrage of brutal incidents and accidents.
In a life so difficult and tiring that there is no room for patience or consideration,
Unfortunate news darkens people's minds.
That's why we all desperately need a warm story right now.
These are simple but warm stories that comfort weary hearts and empathize with painful wounds.
This feeling is even more evident when I see that healing essays are trending in the publishing world, which tends to be more sensitive to people's feelings.
A warm story that quietly flows into your heart has the magic to soften your heart and give you a moment of peace.
A photo I saw on SNS comes to mind.
A stray cat sitting huddled under an umbrella, shivering on a rainy day.
I feel like I'm walking down the street and I'm thinking of someone who found a cat shivering in the rain, gave the cat an umbrella, and ran out into the rain.
Just as a plant placed on a windowsill stretches out toward the sunlight, people are also naturally moved by warm stories like sunlight.
It would be great if these things happened frequently in our daily lives and were shared among people, but if that's not possible in reality, we have no choice but to look at warm picture books often.
If it's wind, it's mountain
These picture books are like a breeze, like a drizzle when it comes to rain, like a spring day when mugwort sprouts up in spikes when it comes to seasons, like a trickling stream when it comes to water, like white rice balls buried under the blankets of the olden days, like whispers, and above all, they are picture books that soothe the eyes and the heart.
On a lonely evening, when you feel empty and have nowhere to put your mind, embrace a warm picture book.

That Autumn - Original work by Kwon Jeong-saeng, written by Yoo Eun-sil, illustrated by Kim Jae-hong, Changbi
It didn't take long to read even though there wasn't much text.
Because it stayed in writing and pictures.
I was reminded of the picture book 『Welcoming Mom』, which is a new version of Lee Tae-jun's short story, reimagined with the illustrations of Kim Dong-seong.
『That Autumn』 was reborn with the prose of Professor Kwon Jeong-saeng, which was touched and polished by writer Yoo Eun-sil, and illustrated by painter Kim Jae-hong.
The meeting of these three people made my heart flutter even before reading it.
This is the story of Kwon Jeong-saeng, a young man who lives in a chapel's doorway, which is cold in the winter and hot in the summer, and who meets Chang-seop, a sixteen-year-old man with a physical disability.
Changseop would sometimes come to this place where no one came.
One rainy autumn, he came to me without even rolling up his muddy pants and said he was hungry.
It was only then that Kwon Jeong-saeng, a young man who had been absorbed in writing, felt hungry.
But since there was nothing to eat, we lay down side by side and sang hymns to endure our hunger… .
When Changseop stood in front of the door and didn't speak to her easily, she blurted out, "Do you want to go to the bathroom too?"
It struck the heart of young Kwon Jeong-saeng like an arrow.
I couldn't take my eyes off each and every picture, but after closing the book, three scenes remained vividly in my heart.
A cover illustration that does not appear in the text, Changseop's eyes filled with sadness as if he knows everything, and the last picture of the Bible.
Why did it have to be autumn, and why did it have to rain?
--- From the text


Seven Years of Sleep - Written by Park Wan-seo, Illustrated by Kim Se-hyeon, Children's Writer's Spirit
These days, there is a famine in Ant Village, and the mine is empty.
The diligent worker ants would wander far and wide, but they would often return empty-handed in the evening, exhausted.
In these difficult times, a young ant brings good news.
They found something incredibly large and fresh, like nothing else.
The old ant and other worker ants followed the young worker ant to the food source.
But a respected old ant in the village carefully examined the food and said it was a cicada larva.
For a moment, it became noisy and tumultuous.
The worker ants want to quickly take this lucky guy who sings all day long in the cool shade of a tree while they work hard and sweat and eat him…
Wouldn't the old ant, seemingly seasoned, have a different perspective? Knowing that the cicada has waited seven years in the dark, undisturbed earth to sing its seasonal song?
What do you guys think?
The writings of Professor Park Wan-seo have been reborn as another wonderful picture book with illustrations by artist Kim Se-hyeon, full of Korean beauty.
As a reader who enjoys picture books, the extent of that joy is indescribable.
Artist Kim Se-hyeon, who always puts his heart and soul into his work, is said to have tried to capture nature as it is this time as well.
The ground is painted with Andong clay, and the cicadas are colored with natural mineral pigments. Expect a painting full of deep colors and each ant is full of life.

"If You Want to Eat Watermelon" - Written by Kim Jang-seong, illustrated by Yuri, Story Flower
In the sweltering hot summer, there is no fruit better than a refreshing watermelon.
It's also large enough to be shared among several people.
What should I do if I crave watermelon on such a hot summer day? What a stupid question, you ask? That's right.
You can just go to a store near your house and buy it.
Nowadays, there are even refrigerated watermelons so you can eat them right away.
But where does the watermelon in the store come from? Even just eating a single piece of watermelon requires a lot of sweat, time, and weather.
The small seeds planted in spring sprout and vines spread out like wildfire, ready to cover the entire ground. Just then, yellow flowers bloom, barely visible between the green leaves.
Then, a watermelon the size of a pea blooms on the withered yellow flower bed, grows to the size of a tangerine, then an apple, and before you know it, it grows to the size of a melon and becomes a real watermelon.
Every grain and fruit that enters our mouths is another life, born from long waiting, someone's hard work, and the sweat and sincerity of someone, with the help of the weather.
Although it is a watermelon that I proudly paid for, when I think about the process it takes to become a watermelon, my heart naturally fills with gratitude.

"Now, Soon, Now, Soon" - Written by Okada Go, Illustrated by Chiaki Okada, Thousand Winds
There is excitement, anticipation, and a sense of urgency in the words, “Now, soon, now,” repeated twice.
What are you waiting for?
A family of rabbits who survive the winter by eating only acorns are waiting for spring.
Mom told Bobo, who didn't know spring yet.
Spring is coming soon, the weather will get warmer, and we will be able to eat lots of delicious food.
When spring comes, Bobo will be able to jump higher and climb his favorite tree.
If you climb the tree, you can also see the sea.
Bobo, who has never seen spring, is curious.
What does it feel like when spring comes? When will it be here soon?
One morning, Bobo came back from running outside and shouted in a joyful voice.
“Mom, I met spring!”
Is spring already here? What kind of spring will Bobo encounter? I'm thinking about what I can say about spring to a child who doesn't know what it is.
--- From the text


How to Create a Picture Book Curation List Notebook

『The Book of Picture Books』 is 1.
I'd like to provide a small tip for those who need picture book curation, 2.
3. Provide a clue for picture book activists to develop lesson plans.
We planned this so that mothers who dream of raising their children through picture books can encounter picture books in a more familiar and systematic way.
This book is a compilation of illustrations from Mr. Je's picture book notebook, which he has kept for 15 years.
The best way to use this book is to create your own picture book notebook.

First, choose picture books without prejudice.

While the benefits of famous authors and beautiful illustrations are clear, picture books aren't just for reading.
The lifeblood of picture books is communication.
I have the experience of sharing with my children or friends, and finally, my heart is fully revealed through picture books.
Connect with picture books and your heart.
You will encounter picture books that speak to you.
Second, when you read a picture book, try to discover the fun stories the author playfully hides.

The beauty of picture books lies in discovering something new each time you read them from different perspectives and angles.

Third, try to connect picture books with your daily life.

Stories about the author, stories about the theme of the picture book, stories shared with children, and stories related to everyday life.
All new stories from picture books enrich our lives.

When reading 『The Book of Picture Books』, there is no need to read it from beginning to end.
You can open any page and see what you want to see.
Add new books to 100 topics every day.
If you cook up 100 different topics, you can prune up over 200 different topics.
You can even create a completely new topic.

The picture book notebook contains the following contents:
1.
Basic bibliographic information such as book title, author, publisher, and publication date, 2.
Keywords of picture books, 3.
A short thought created by the date read, various situations and emotions before, during, and after reading the picture book.
Communication with children.
After reading this book, I hope you too will have your own picture book notebook.

--- From the text