We are blessed in this country to have many talented illustrators and authors from across Europe, working to produce gorgeous books for our children (and us) to enjoy. With the threat of Brexit looming large on the horizon, how much of this talent will be lost?

Forty-five artists from across Europe come together to share powerful illustrations of its past and future. It contains contributions from some of the world’s best book illustrators and is packed with emotion.

In his emotive foreword, Axel Scheffler shares his grief about the fact that (after 36 years living here) the U.K. no longer feels like home. It is his hope that this book will promote discussion in homes and classrooms, and highlight the fact that democracy and freedom should not be taken for granted.

I was interested to see what reaction the illustrations would provoke from my family. My husband has worked in European finance for many years and has recently changed jobs due to uncertainty over his future. He spent a long time looking at the illustrations and reading the captions before dubbing the book “Brilliant but brutal!”

My five year-old son made a very astute observation when he came to the illustration by Steve Antony.  He noted that the girl’s clothes were made out of lots of flags but that she had cut one out and now our flag (the U.K. flag) was all alone on the floor. Wise beyond his years!

Surely it’s our duty to help young minds understand the value (and possible pitfalls) of being part of the European Union? Sharing and discussing illustrations can be a powerful way of doing this.

Library Girl.

*Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me this title to review*