What´s Inside That Crate?
Six characters try to guess what’s inside the crate they’re about to transport. The pilot, the captain, the engine driver, the bus driver and the postman on his bicycle: they all imagine it’s some kind of exotic animal. Though they transport the crate with the greatest care, they can’t prevent it from breaking open repeatedly. And each time a smaller crate appears. The girl who eventually receives the crate finds a whistle inside. She blows on it and a host of animals appear, marching in a festive parade.
One of our country’s most original illustratorsCobra
The accompanying text is quite simple, with the illustrations becoming the real eye-catchers in ‘What´s Inside That Crate?'. Gaudesaboos’ prints saturate the pages and are executed in great detail without becoming excessive. He achieves this by using a simple colour palette, with contrasting colours for the crate and the vehicles. Thus the prints remain tranquil, while the reader undertakes a journey of discovery examining the sumptuous details. The attentive reader will, for example, be tempted to discover all manner of animal figures. A veritable feast!
An exceptionally stylish must-have *****De Standaard
A beautiful and originally designed bookJaapLeest
'When I saw the cover of 'What’s Inside that Crate?', I knew right away that we wanted to publish this book. It is very close to the graphic line of La Pastèque; it has the conceptual approach that we like. Pieter Gaudesaboos’s work fits directly with the way we see the use of colours and design to create a new narrative storyline where the young reader can enter this “world” on many levels. I was immediately attracted by the “accessible complexity” of his work: at first sight it appears to be simple and iconographic, but Pieter succeeds in integrating different layers within one single picture and packing a great deal into his book. At La Pastèque we love cross-genre books, and we feel that Pieter has incorporated nonfiction elements in his book in a very creative way. Means of transportation, formats, sizes are naturally woven into the story.
Pieter Gaudesaboos’s style is very modern and yet has something timeless about it. His work has an international feel, and at the same time he has developed a unique and personal voice.'
