Jean Jullien's birthday message. Image courtesy of Jean's Instagram

Jean Jullien’s wonderfully un-grown-up birthday message

The artist, illustrator and Phaidon author shows us how we all feel on the day we get one year older

Jean Jullien can assume a wonderfully childlike point of view. His board books for 2-4 year olds, This is Not a Book and Before & After, are filled with the kind of visual gags perfectly suited to pre-schoolers.

However, he has also created paintings, plates, animations, t-shirt lines and restaurant logos for more grown-up viewers, and knows how to laugh along with the disappointments of later life.

Jean Jullien by Daniel Arnold

While we might not all agree Mario is just as good as ever, we can certainly sympathise with Jean’s un-smiley face in this image, posted on his Instagram (and ours) to mark his 34th birthday.

Before & After by Jean Jullien

Don't go changing, Jean. For more of his eternally youthful work, take a look at these books.

This Is Not A BookJean Jullien

A playfully deceptive format that encourages young readers to see things differently. Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2016, Picture Books category.

This is not a book - it's a laptop, a pair of hands to clap, a toolbox! Each spread of this book is actually something else entirely, challenging young readers to see things quite differently!

Turning the page and finding a full-sized image of piano keys will invite children to swing the book on its side for imaginative play; turning the page again to find a monster with its mouth wide open will prompt children to use the book to chomp everything around them! The result stretches beyond the pages of this book, prompting readers to think creatively about other objects in their daily lives.

Ages 2-4 years

Specifications:

Format: Board Book
Size: 228 × 165 mm (9 × 6 1/2 in)
Pages: 32 pp
Illustrations: 32 illustrations
ISBN: 9780714871127

Jean Jullien is a prolific and beloved French graphic design artist. His creative output ranges from illustration, photography, and video to costumes, installations, books, posters, clothing — even skateboards. Jullien has shown work around the world with museums and galleries in Paris, London, Brussels, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore and more. His work appears in The New York Times, New Yorker, National Geographic, SZ Magazine, Telerama and more, and he has collaborated with Beams, RCA Records, The Connaught, Colette, Amnesty International, Le Coq Sportif, Jardin des Plantes (Nantes), Hotel Amour, Champion USA, Salomon, and Petit Bateau, among other global brands.

'When is a board book not a board book? When it's a laptop computer, tent, or butterfly with flapping wings. And thanks to Jullien's bold cartooning and clever rethinking of how the facing pages of each spread interact, this delightfully designed book transforms into those objects and many more.' – Publishers Weekly, Best Books of the Year

'A witty board book that's perfect for inquisitive preliterate kids.' – Financial Times

'A visual riot, glossy high quality pages with two-page spreads of vivid illustrations. No words! My boys used their own words, made up stories, acted out scenes, mimed the actions for the pictures. It fires up imaginations; it gives your children stories. An imaginary treat.' – Guardian

'This wordless picture book is simply brilliant! This is a book (not a book!) that works on so many levels — it will entertain the littles ... engage and inspire the slightly older kids, and perhaps remind any adults who might have forgotten that books can take us anywhere we want to go. Books really are so much more than "just books." Jean Jullien = creative genius.' – Kids' Book Review

'A bright, innovative board book that will get children thinking ... Perfect for developing kids' imaginations and cultivating a lifelong love of reading." – The Sun

'A fabulous board book designed to challenge younger readers to think creatively about objects in their everyday lives. Really unique.' – Angels & Urchins

'This is Not A Book. It's not. It's a fridge full of food, a laptop, a piano. It's an attempt to get kids to play with the world around them, and it's created by Jean Jullien, the designer and satirist behind the 'Peace for Paris' symbol" – Observer Magazine

'It can used as a pretend piano, and there's a monster lurking on one page. Look out for the twist at the end – it folds out to become a house.' – Evening Standard

'Every page brings a new surprise ... won't fail to spark your child's imagination and inspire them to create artworks of their own. Especially when they discover this book's hidden secret, which will leave them wondering ... Is it really a book at all?" – Smallish

'In a tour-de-force of visual transformation, French graphic designer Jullien makes good on the promise of the title, turning this board book into a laptop, butterfly, fridge, tightrope, human rear end (yes, that’s right), and more. The magic lies in Jullien’s loose, expressive cartooning and smart use of the hinge at the center of each spread—after the book is turned sideways, the hinge separates the laptop’s keyboard from its screen, just like a real one, while a scene of a boy reading in a tent demands to be propped up, tent-style. The final pages—a pair of hands to “clap” together-deliver some well-deserved applause.' – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

'[Jullien] is a rising star, famed for his bold, black-pen drawings and playful take on the world.' – Metropolitan: Eurostar Magazine

'Probably the most unique book concept I’ve seen in a while ... The children love this book.' – Diary of a First Child

'Fine example of engaging a much younger audience in the love of books. We love this!' – Picture Book Blogger

'Jean Jullien engages kids' imaginations in absorbing style, asking them to suspend their assumptions about for and play with the conventions of the book in their hands ... Very enjoyable indeed.' – Absolutely Mama

'The simplicity of the artwork makes this book very user-friendly and I can easily see how it can provide a lot of fun … A brilliant not-a-book, or better still, more-than-a-book.' – The School Librarian

'Will allow adults and children to create own their own stories. Views from many angles help inspire the imagination for all.' – Inis, Reading Guide 2016/17 (Ireland)