Anno's Britain

Anno's Journey #3

by Mitsumasa Anno

The illustrations lead the reader on a journey through Great Britain moving freely through time and space.

Genres: Picture Books, Geography, Travel, Childrens, International, History, British Literature

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1981

About the author

His name is written as 安野光雅 in Japanese.

Mitsumasa Anno (born March 20, 1926) was a Japanese illustrator and writer of children's books, known best for picture books with few or no words. He received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1984 for his "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1985 by Philomel
Interest Level: K-3rd Grade+

This wordless picture book depicting Britain is a great way to introduce young students to England and many facets of British culture. What I love about the Anno series are the small cultural references that are detailed into every two-page illustration. I love how the details are from all areas of the British culture, which ranges from Winnie-the-Pooh and Mary Poppins to Robin Hood and Scottish log-throwing contests. Although this book is compared to the "Where's Waldo" series frequently, I think that it is a much deeper cultural experience than that. Mitsumasa Anno creates a wonderful work of art that has many deep cultural roots.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordless picture book featuring Anno's exquisitely detailed watercolors. Beginning at the cliffs of Dover, we see medieval manor houses, half-timbered villages, Stonehenge, cathedrals, bridgebuilding over the Thames, St. Paul's, the Tower of London, jousting matches, etc. This image may be from a different Anno book but the style is the same:

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of Anno Mitsumasa's work, the devil is in the detail. His mastery of turning the two-dimensional into three is second to none, his narrative which, I feel, trots slowly, calmly along the picture pane has a sense of the poetic to it.

In this addition we are lucky enough to travel through the different ages of Britain, from the erection of Stone Henge to a gig held by the Beatles in a town square. The wordless nature of the book leaves the reader to find their own story within the pages and, after multiple readings, I still find new things to look at through new lenses. One moment I am exploring our rich literature and the next our cultural heritage held within the walls of Anno's beautiful buildings. Here, there is a strong sense of keeping in touch with the past and embracing those buildings and times before.

There are nods to various Shakespeare plays, Chaucer, Wind in the Willows, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood and much more.

[Hayden Hanshew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I found interesting, mostly because of the illustrations, which seemed to convey movement in the smallest of details. The story starts off in a lake, and the water is portrayed as moving by repeating small lines. I like how you can tell it starts to rain, so the man in the lake rows to shore. He seems to be in a village, and probably in the country side. I realized that the book is following a man on a horse, who I assume is Anno, and the illustrations get more busy, as far as it going from the country side to the city of London. The illustrations show more motion but has a bird's eye view of Anno going through Britain. He goes from London back to the lake in the country side, and gets back in the boat and rows away, which I find funny.

[Geoff Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat for the eyes, and a trip through history as you follow Anno on his journey visiting various points in time to view some key moments in British history, I have wrote about it more here. https://www.anagregoryteaching.co.uk/...

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anno takes a journey through the villages, towns, and cities of the UK complete with a royal wedding and an old fashioned caber toss.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several years ago I went through my childhood bedroom and sorted my picture books into three stacks--the first for donations to the local elementary school, the second for sentimental books to keep at my parents' house, and third for books like this that I've brought with me into my adult life. The illustrations are wonderful and each is full of charming hidden British myths and legends. I pick this up and I am instantly a kid under the blankets with a flashlight again.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed drawings set the stage for this wordless picture book. The reader takes a journey through historical sights of Britain, including the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. great for ages K and up.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the little things to look for, especially the repeats images.