Bologna finds - Lucho Rodriguez

I first discovered Ediciones Tecolote when they published two of Sebastiano's books in 2005, 

and have since appreciated the innovative and refined production of this Mexican publisher. In 2007 they won

the Bologna New Horizons award with El Libro Negro de los Colores by Rosana Faria and Menena Cottin.

This outstanding book is a wonderful exploration of color through the other senses designed to be experienced

by both children who can see and who can't. The textured illustrations are embossed with black ink on 

black paper, while the evocative texts are printed reversed and in Braille. You can watch a video of the book,

now also available in an English edition, here.

But I digress. In fact, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite Tecolote's artists, Colombian illustrator 

Lucho Rodrìguez. His lovable stylized creatures (Charley Harper definitely comes to mind) are not exactly a new

find for me, since I have owned his Qué Monos for the past three years, but this time I discovered many more. 

Rodriguez began his career in Bogotá as graphic designer with an international advertising agency that 

gave him the opportunity to travel to Europe and New York. Later he opened a graphic studio in Caracas, 

but during the Venezuelan economic crisis he retired from advertising and dedicated himself to drawing animals.

His first children's book Abzoo was followed by more volumes dedicated to the depiction and 

celebration of wildlife, including Animals of Mexico, Birds of Mexico, Beetles and Wild animals, 

which was published last August in the US by Random House.