Two Long, Magical Picture Books from Enchanted Lion

Posted on April 23, 2024 at 6:28 am by Gene Ambaum

Bunny & Tree by Balint Zsako. Enchanted Lion, 2023. 9781592703937. 184pp.

This wordless story of friendship features a tree that saves a rabbit on the run from a wolf. The lonely rabbit then digs up the tree and transports it in a wagon, in a journey that reminded me of Regis Faller’s Polo books. Minor spoiler: on a faraway island they find other rabbits, and what happens next is magical.

The Magicians by Blexbolex. Translated from French by Karin Snelson. Enchanted Lion, 2023. 9781592704040. 210pp.

Blexbolex (Seasons, Ballad) experiments with illustrations and printing techniques. The way the words are arranged at the bottom of the pages makes the book feel like it’s from a bygone era, and the illustration style and the paper give the whole thing a hand-printed feel.

The story involves the reappearance of magicians in an abandoned house, plus a huntress and a clinker (the dragon-like thing on the cover) who are on their trail. It’s action-packed and full of strange moments; then things get weirder when the magicians fall through the paper and end up outside the story.