mat_tobin's review against another edition
4.0
The first in the series of Anno's journeys sees the little character of Anno take his horse across Europe. As with [b:Anno's U.S.A.|596698|Anno's U.S.A.|Mitsumasa Anno|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1176141703s/596698.jpg|1062761], Anno himself spent time travelling across the continent to study and explore the landscape and its people. The cultural references throughout not only give a nod to housing and the use of the land but to art and literature too. Don Quixote sits alongside The Enormous Turnip which the rich, double-page spreads pay homage to Millet, Renoir and Seurat amongst others. I really like Anno's statement on exploration at the back of the book and it is a phrase worth sharing with the child reader:
'By the end of my journey, I realised that I had set out not to collect information but to lose my way - and to discover the world you will find in this book.'
'By the end of my journey, I realised that I had set out not to collect information but to lose my way - and to discover the world you will find in this book.'
votrikhon's review against another edition
some recommend to look in the book at the end of the book.
kwbat12's review against another edition
4.0
Really pretty wordless book. European, old world context. The pictures are really nice.
kstehel's review against another edition
5.0
This is likely my favorite book that reads without text. It is much shorter than Shaun Tan's "The Arrival," and it is rendered in watercolor. From what appears to be intricate pen work over layers of watercolor, meticulous mark-making strokes blanket the entire book leaving very minimal white space. The imagery covers various landscape settings from Europe. Simple gestures suggest activities taking place all over the composition of each page. In a sense, this is similar to "Where's Waldo" because the elements are so tiny and there are multitudes of them. It is up to the reader to search for the intended actions that are taking place. I recommend this beautiful book to everyone.
snowelf's review against another edition
4.0
As is the case with so many wordless books, this one calls for repeated "readings". I liked to study the details, try to imagine through where the rider was traveling. In particular I liked how some things repeated themselves through the book but in different form/shape: landscapes, groups of people, children. My 4 1/2 year old was pretty drawn into this book as well. We might seek out [a:Anno's|72077|Mitsumasa Anno|/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66-e07624dc012f2cce49c7d9aa6500c6c0.jpg] other "travel" books: [b:Spain|1076039|Anno's Spain|Mitsumasa Anno|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309287701s/1076039.jpg|1062751], [b:Britain|596705|Anno's Britain|Mitsumasa Anno|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333342054s/596705.jpg|1062753], [b:U.S.A|596698|Anno's U.S.A.|Mitsumasa Anno|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1176141703s/596698.jpg|1062761], [b:Italy|1401082|Anno's Italy|Mitsumasa Anno|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1312374264s/1401082.jpg|1391275] ...
lupines's review against another edition
3.0
Good illustration delivered a story even without words. In this wordless book, Anno took me along on his journey.
nejohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty pictures with lots of easter egg references to fairy tales, impressionist paintings, Beethoven, and all of European culture in general.
ellielabbett's review
4.0
Anno’s Journey is undoubtedly a beautiful and detailed exploration of rural and urban communities, a fantastic work of art that can be appreciated by anyone. It put me in the position of an anonymous observer, which I imagine to be quite similar to Anno, who created this book during his travels across Europe. I think that this position is made all the more prevalent through the fact that there are no words in this story, perhaps mirroring the solitude that Anno felt during his trip.
It was after a few re-reads that I found that following Anno’s journey was actually quite a grounding experience- it hones in on the complexities of individual life, which we do not always notice when travelling through our own lives. Perhaps we all need to pay more attention to what is going on around us, rather than being stuck in our own personal bubble.
I question how I would actually use this book in school, as I feel that reading this story is and ought to be an individual experience, not to be dictated by a teacher or other children. I think that it should to be something that children can look through quietly on their own, rather than being a point of discussion.
It was after a few re-reads that I found that following Anno’s journey was actually quite a grounding experience- it hones in on the complexities of individual life, which we do not always notice when travelling through our own lives. Perhaps we all need to pay more attention to what is going on around us, rather than being stuck in our own personal bubble.
I question how I would actually use this book in school, as I feel that reading this story is and ought to be an individual experience, not to be dictated by a teacher or other children. I think that it should to be something that children can look through quietly on their own, rather than being a point of discussion.