Marc Boutavant & Sempé -- by guest Erin Jang

I adore the work of these two French children's book illustrators, Marc Boutavant and Jean-Jacques Sempé. I first discovered Sempé's cover art for the New Yorker and Boutavant's whimsical illustrations for Martha Stewart Kids magazine many years ago.

One of my favorite children's books is Martin Pebble. There are very few words and only a couple colors in this book about a boy who is a chronic blusher (I empathize!). I love Sempé's loose linework and limited color palette -- it's beautiful to look at.





I first hired Marc Boutavant when I was at the Boston Globe, and he was so lovely to work with. I am completely infatuated with his illustrations, the funny characters and animals he creates, the emotions and stories he tells through them and the colors he uses. It is so inspiring.