Beatrice Alemagna facts for kids

Beatrice Alemagna (born 1973) is an Italian artist who writes and illustrates amazing books for children. She is known for her unique and imaginative drawings.

About Beatrice Alemagna

Beatrice Alemagna was born in Bologna, Italy, in 1973. She studied art at the Graphic School in Urbino. In 1997, she moved to Paris, France, where she still lives today. For more than 10 years, she worked as a poster artist for the famous Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Her book On a Magical Do-Nothing Day was chosen as one of the top ten best-illustrated children's books of 2017 by New York Times and the New York Public Library. This book also won a Golden Medal for Original Art from the Society of Illustrators in New York.

Beatrice Alemagna won the Andersen Prize for Illustrator of the Year in 2010. She was also nominated four times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is a very important award for children's literature. In 2020, she won Le Prix des Sorcières for her book Les choses qui s’en vont (Things That Go Away). In 2021, she received a special award for her book A sbagliare le storie.

Alemagna has created more than 30 books for children. These books have been translated into many different languages. Some of these languages include Swedish, English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, German, Greek, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, and Lithuanian.

Her first book published in the USA was The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy in 2015. After that, other books like On a Magical Do-Nothing Day (2017), Harold Snipperpot's Best Disaster Ever (2019), Things That Go Away (2020), and Never, Not Ever! (2021) were also released in the USA.

Books for Young Readers

Here are some of the children's books Beatrice Alemagna has created:

• Never, Not Ever! – USA (HarperCollins, 2021)
• Telling Stories Wrong (A sbagliare le storie) (text by Gianni Rodari) – Italy (Emme Edizioni, 2020), Korea (Booklight, 2020), USA (Enchanted Lion Books, 2022)
• Things That Go Away (Les Choses qui s'en vont) – France (Hélium, 2019), USA (Abrams, 2020), Italy (Topipittori, 2019)
• Harold Snipperpot's Best Disaster Ever – HarperCollins (USA, 2019)
• Lotta Combinaguai Sa Fare Tutto by Astrid Lindgren, Italy (Mondadori, 2018)
• On a Magical Do-Nothing Day (Un grand jour de rien) France (Albin Michel jeunesse/Trapèze, 2016), USA (Harper Collins, 2017)
• Picasso & Lump (text by Nancy Lim) – USA (MoMA, 2016)
• Lotta combinaguai by Astrid Lindgren – Italy (Mondadori, 2015)
• The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy (Le merveilleux dodu-velu-petit) – France (Albin Michel, 2014), USA (Enchanted Lion, 2015)
• Little big Boubo – England (Tate Publishers, 2014)
• The Five Misfits (I cinque Malfatti) – Italy (Topipittori, 2014), England (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2015)
• Bon voyage, Bébé! – France (Hélium, 2013)
• La gigantesque petite chose – England (Tate Publishers, 2018)
• Jo singe garçon – France (Autrement jeunesse, 2010)
• The Bug's Books – England (Phaidon)
• Oméga et l'ourse (text by Guillaume Guéraud)
• What is a Child? (Che cos'è un bambino?) – Italy (Topipittori, 2008), England (Tate Publishing, 2016)
• Karl Ibou – France (Autrement jeunesse - 2008)
• A Lion in Paris (Un lion à Paris) – France (Autrement jeunesse, 2006), England (Tate Publishing, 2014)
• Comptines du jardin d'Eden, CD Book – France (Didier éditions, 2005)
• Les corbeaux de Pearblossom (text by Aldous Huxley) – France (Gallimard jeunesse, 2005)
• Je voulais une tortue – Editions du Panama - France 2005
• La promenade d'un distrait (text by Gianni Rodari), picture book and short movie
• Portraits – France (Seuil jeunesse/ CIELJ, 2003)
• My Love (Mon amour) – France (Autrement jeunesse, 2002)
• Après Noël – France (Autrement jeunesse - 2001)

Awards and Recognition

Beatrice Alemagna's books have won many awards around the world:

• Things That Go Away (Les Choses qui s'en vont): Won the LaAv Infanzia Prize (Italy) in 2021. It also won Le Prix des Sorcières (France) in 2020 and the Val de Marne Prize (France) in 2019.
• On a Magical Do-Nothing Day: Won the English Association Book award (England) in 2018. It was chosen by The New York Times and New York Public Library as one of the top ten children's books in 2017 (USA). It also received a Gold medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York in 2017. This book won the Grand prix de l'illustration in Moulins, France, in 2017, and the Landerneau Prize as Best book of 2016, France, in 2017.
• The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy: Won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award in the USA in 2016. It was also selected for Pépites de Montreuil, France, in 2014.
• The Five Misfits: Won LiBeRmagazine's Prize as the best book in Italy in 2015. It also received the First Prize of Salon du livre de Gaillac, France, in 2015.
• Bon voyage, Bébé!: Won the Baby readers Prize from Ville de Nanterre, France, in 2015.
• What is a Child?: Won Crescer magazine's Prize as the best picture book in Brazil in 2014. It was also selected for "the World through Picture Book" by IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), Netherlands, in 2015.
• A Lion in Paris: Won the National Prize "Nati per leggere" in Italy in 2010. It received a special mention at the Bologna Book Fair Award - Italy in 2007. It was also selected for the White Ravens, Germany, in 2007, and for the Baobab Prize of Salon de Montreuil, France, in 2006.
• Après Noël: Won the Octogones Prize, France, in 2002.

Exhibitions

Beatrice Alemagna's artwork has been shown in many solo and group exhibitions. These exhibitions have taken place in cities all over the world. Some of these cities include Paris, Bologna, Tokyo, Stockholm, Dublin, Beijing, and Madrid.

Some of her notable exhibitions include:

• 2023: A special show of her past works at Espace Saint-Rémi, Bordeaux, France.
• 2018: Another show of her past works at Cultural Centre C'era una volta, Bastia, France.
• 2017: "Face à face" at Salon du livre de Montreuil, France. "The Zoo inside of Beatrice Alemagna" at Zoo Gallery Bologna, Italy. "World of Colour" (with Chris Haughton) in Dublin, Ireland. "The Original Art 2017 Exhibit" at the Museum of Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in NY.
• 2015–16: Exhibitions at The American Society of Illustrators, New York, USA. "Eccellenze italiane" by Bologna Book Fair, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid, Spain, and Berlin, Germany.
• 2014–15: "Facce d'infanzia" at the Italian Cultural Institute of Stockholm, Sweden.