Gus is a Tree

Gus falls asleep during recess and dreams he is a tree. Babin's writing, though lyrical, can sound forced. Some words distractingly in all-caps in the main text, are explained in an appended glossary. The collage illustrations, which subtly blens nature photographs with the paintings, are visually appealing.

Claire Babin is a children's book editor in Paris, France, who specializes in music. She is the author of many children's books, including the Gus series. In these books she invites the reader to enter into Gus's games and daydreams. Her writing is supple and perfectly pitched to a child's imagination. Olivier Tallec was born in Brittany in 1970. After graduating from the Ecole Supérieure d'Art graphique in Paris he worked in advertising as a graphic designer, after which he devoted himself to illustration. Since then he has done numerous illustrations for newspapers and magazines and has illustrated over 50 books for children.