SATA
ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: FEELINGS
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Paris
STATE:
COUNTRY: France
NATIONALITY: Frankish
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:Studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Graphic artist, illustrator, and children’s book creator.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 1, 2016, Maggie Reagan, review of My Dreams, p. 116.
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2014, review of Colors; July 1, 2014, review of Jojo’s First Word; January 1, 2016, review of Vehicles; July 1, 2017, review of Touch; July 1, 2017, review of Fly!; July 1, 2018, review of Jungle Animals; January 1, 2019, review of 123; January 15, 2019, review of Farm Animals; December 15, 2020, review of My Big Touch-and-Feel Concepts Books; June 15, 2021, review of Feelings.
Publishers Weekly, March 22, 2014, review of Opposites, p. 66.
Xavier Deneux studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris. He has worked as a graphic artist, creating posters and decorations for various industries, and has illustrated more than forty children's books. He lives and works in Paris, France.
Deneux, Xavier FEELINGS Chronicle Books (Children's None) $15.99 3, 9 ISBN: 978-1-7972-0379-9
Evocative, poetic expressions of various emotions wrapped in an innovative tactile package.
It starts with the emotion “joy,” a raised, gloriously yellow die-cut chick cavorting on the left-hand page with a circular die cut serving as both a picture of a shining sun and a recess for the chick to fit into on the right. Though the book’s many raised and indented pieces fit together neatly, they aren’t always exact mirrors of each other—a neat touch. Each double-page spread offers a pair of word clusters, with (in the first one) a joy-inspired word bank first, followed by a second grouping that’s woven loosely together into a poem that actually carries a plot. In “sadness,” which details the “freeze • melt • puddle” demise of a snowman, the die-cut, drippy remains easily communicate the sense of “sob • snuffle • whimper.” Because feelings are so abstract and the vocabulary herein quite high level, with words like grit and cower, this may fly over the heads of the traditional board-book crowd, but perceptive preschoolers should enjoy the challenge of both the poems and the new language. Graphically simple shapes in bold colors are inviting, and some spreads, like one in which two “playful’’ squirrels caper opposite a teary “left out,” friend tell a perfect visual story. Most of Deneux’s risks pay off, like an angry red crayon accompanied by “exasperated” scribbles, but “surprise,” which confronts a mother duck and two ducklings with a hatchling alligator, concludes with an unsettling, conversation-starting “snap!”
An excellent way to broaden children’s preexisting emotional vocabulary. (Board book. 2-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: FEELINGS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667041843/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f54a3556. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier MY BIG TOUCH-AND-FEEL CONCEPTS BOOK Twirl/Chronicle (Children's None) $21.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-2-40801-968-6
Four concepts in one busy board book imported from France.
Using a guessing-game format, Deneux introduces colors, shapes, numbers and opposites, following those introductions with increasingly complex iterations of each topic. Toddlers depicted throughout have varied skin tones but the same rosy cheeks. The “160 words” and “60 Touch-and-Feel Elements” announced on the front cover are scattered across sometimes-cluttered spreads. Many objects are not labeled. Most spreads have just one or two tactile features. What to do with this hodgepodge of information is not always clear, leaving it to caregivers to guide children through, for instance, the riot of colors at an amusement park or to puzzle out how a toy crane next to a numeral 9 may represent that number. After a single spread defines basic shapes, the next spread introduces a spiral, a diamond, a star, and an oval, along with objects that represent those shapes, followed by two pages cluttered with 50 objects (four with labels and just three with tactile elements) and the hint: “SO MANY COLORS AND SHAPES TO NAME.” The success of the reading experience depends on the skill of the adult sharing the book. Its touch-and-feel features demand one-on-one sharing, yet some of the tactile elements may not survive toddler fingers. Older toddlers may be confused; younger babies will be distracted.
Sometimes simpler is better. Pass on this hurried jumble. (Board book. 6 mos.-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: MY BIG TOUCH-AND-FEEL CONCEPTS BOOK." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A644766940/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d40e8165. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier FARM ANIMALS Twirl/Chronicle (Children's Fiction) $12.99 1, 8 ISBN: 979-1-02760-604-7
An interactive board book about farm animals with sliding tabs.
Deneux deploys his usual simple, bold, labeled illustrations with an eye to palette and a play on color. This board book uses only three colors--orange, black, and white--which may strike some as odd given the illustrations include a pig and a donkey. Readers are invited to slide a tab with a die-cut circle for a fingertip either up and down or back and forth in order to alter details on the animal: An eye opens, a beak turns orange, hooves appear. The illustrations are certainly fun to look at, and the sliding feature is inviting and compelling (even adults will want to try it out). What's puzzling, though, is the purpose of the sliding, aside from perhaps engaging little readers' fine-motor skills. What changes about each animal seems arbitrary, sometimes altering them from a single, solid black-on-white or white-on-black silhouette to a figure with some details; others simply add or subtract details. On one page, the chicks disappear and reappear altogether, the only such animal to do that in the book. Thus the book doesn't seem to be about a play on outlines and shapes, or a play on disappearing and reappearing, or really any one thing except an amusing little gimmick that activates colors and patterns.
The fun of this one is in the manipulative elements, even if they don't make the book wow. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: FARM ANIMALS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A569224642/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0b5ae1ab. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier 1 2 3 Chronicle (Children's Informational) $22.99 10, 9 ISBN: 978-1-4521-7390-0
Dots take on the shapes of animals in this progressive counting board book.
Part guessing game, part counting exercise, this oversized board book with extra-thick pages introduces animals, numerals, and counting to 10. The introductory spread for each number and animal includes a raised, brightly colored numeral alongside its written form. Next to that are a series of dots in the corresponding number. The dots are covered by a solid-colored page with die-cut circles so that a flip of the page reveals what the dots become: Three dots become a heavily stylized duck; five a horse; and nine a snake, for example. The structure invites readers to guess what the dots might become, a playful element for little ones with big imaginations. Deneux's palette is as important to the illustrations as the dots. Contrasting, deeply saturated colors help give context, as with the glowworm that appears on an entirely black background. Because the animals are made up of dots, they are abstract. This works well for some but not all; many readers may see the 10-dot dinosaur as a green horse, for instance. While this allows readers to interpret what they see, it could also be frustrating that the animals are not all immediately identifiable.
A nice approach to the counting book that does well overall even if its abstract illustrations aren't a perfect take. (Board book. 2-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: 1 2 3." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A567651559/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9a85f33f. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier JUNGLE ANIMALS Twirl/Chronicle (Children's Informational) $10.99 4, 3 ISBN: 979-1-02760-366-4
Tactile illustrations of jungle animals in a bold, striking palette.
Originally published in France as La jungle des animaux, this board book contains very little text--simple labeling of the animals in the illustration--but packs its punch in images. On each page, certain key pieces of the illustrations are raised. For example, the images of crocodiles reveal only their snouts and eyes slinking across the water, and the eyes are slightly raised for little fingers to touch. With essentially no words, Deneux conveys what it feels like to see a crocodile in the water and the essence of its movements. Other striking illustrations of a chameleon, panther, toucan, parrot, and (toothless, open-mouthed) piranhas make excellent use of background and contrasting colors to showcase the animals. Not every page is a knockout: The snake looks disappointingly like a worm. The birds that share a page with the crocodiles and the fish being chased by piranhas aren't named, while every other animal is, down to ants and a spider, both of which are about to become food. Those issues aside, young readers on laps will enjoy the physical exploration of the book, while the contrasting, bold colors make the illustrations easy to see and understand.
Excellent for little hands to explore and with inviting and age-appropriate illustrations. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Deneux, Xavier: JUNGLE ANIMALS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A544637757/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=38d46106. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier FLY! Chronicle (Children's Fiction) $17.99 3, 7 ISBN: 978-1-4521-5922-5
A bird embarks on a long journey.In the first double-page spread, a yellow bird arrives at the foot of a tall tree after what the text calls "a very long journey," but her story is far from over. As she makes a home in her tree and then a family with a red bird who joins her, this board book explores the circle of life. The book's illustrations are large and rounded, mostly circles or half-circles, enhancing that "circle of life" theme. The book holds removable play pieces that can be slotted into the compositions in different ways. For example, a round yellow piece symbolizing the sun can be taken, flipped, and inserted into a recess in the picture opposite as the bushy round crown of a tree. Each double-page spread offers at least one removable piece to be fitted into the opposite page; they do not require carrying over into subsequent spreads. The interactive play is a perfect spice to a simple story that will delight little ones. The pieces aren't dangerously tiny, but some will inevitably make their ways under the couch or become stuck between cushions. Luckily the compositions still work well enough without them. A charming, not-so-simple board book that will surely engage. (Board book. 2-3)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: FLY!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A497199465/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=51c51499. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier TOUCH! Twirl/Chronicle (Children's Fiction) $18.99 4, 4 ISBN: 978-2-7459-8178-3
One hundred and fifty words, most of them useful! This substantial, 24-page board book aims to expand the vocabularies of young readers by way of text, drawings, and 30 touch-and-feel elements. Each page depicts objects organized by theme: "Meal Time," "Bedtime," and "Bath Time," for example, or "Clothes," "At the Market," and "On the Road." The book concludes with 10 pages of animals: "Short Hair," "Furry," "Smooth Skin," "Rough Skin," "Scales and Shells," and "Birds." Textured items on each page keep little fingers and minds engaged--a baby bottle, a plush blanket, a burlap sack, a corduroy jacket, horse "hair," wolf "fur," and fish "scales," to name a few. The book depicts children of varied ethnicities--a white boy and girl on the front and back covers respectively, a brown-skinned boy and a girl who appears to be his younger sister, and a black-haired, brown-skinned boy buying strawberries. There are a few sour notes: one familiar toy is labeled a "shape sorter," which many children will simply see as a puzzle. "Ride-on car," too, sounds awkward, though descriptive. "Jam" is recognizable, but "hazelnut spread" seems a stretch for a child. Both resemble leading grocery-store brands. "Toast" is covered in a sticky spread that collects hair and dirt when laid on a rug. Quibbles aside, kids will enjoy reading and handling this book as long as its (not particularly sturdy) binding lasts. (Board book. 1-3)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Deneux, Xavier: TOUCH!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A497199505/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1a0c18d1. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
My Dreams. By Xavier Deneux. Illus. by the author. Sept. 2016.16p. Chronicle/Twirl, $12.99 (9791027601912). PreS-K.
Deneux (My Animals, 2016) crafts another touchable, interactive board book, this time with a fantastical twist. In simple text, an unnamed narrator leads readers through a land of dreams. The dream scenes are illustrated in black and cream, with red and green accents, and each page contains plenty of eye-catching and tactile details. Shiny mirrored sections and raised images are sure to attract toddler fingers, while glow-in-the-dark elements add an extra layer of excitement. Gently reassuring and just adventurous enough for a young audience, this makes for a lovely bedtime story.--Maggie Reagan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Reagan, Maggie. "My Dreams." Booklist, vol. 113, no. 1, 1 Sept. 2016, p. 116. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A463755282/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f705b9c3. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier VEHICLES Handprint/Chronicle (Children's Picture Books) $14.99 8, 4 ISBN: 978-1-4521-4516-7
Different types of vehicles are introduced using tactile images paired with word clusters. Each double-page spread highlights a certain type of vehicle, with raised images on the left-hand pages fitting into matching indentations on the right. For example, on the "Train" spread, readers see a curving set of train tracks recessed into the thick board pages on the right, paired with the raised image of a train on the left. The illustrations are simple, colorful, and appealing, and the textures and word clusters invite exploration. The word cluster for the aforementioned spread includes several nouns separated by small gray dots (locomotive, tracks, caboose, passenger car, curve, windows, and roof) as well as a couple of participles in italics (chugging, rolling). The indentations and raised images aren't always an exact match, and this just adds to the fun of discovery. On the spaceship spread, the image of a large crescent moon is recessed into the right-hand page, while the left features a raised spaceship (which fits into the space carved out by the moon but doesn't fill it entirely). Companion title Farm follows a similar format, highlighting adorable farm animals and providing related words to spark conversation. The tactile elements, engaging visuals, and provocative word clusters offer a rewarding experience for adults and tots alike. (Board book. 2-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: VEHICLES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A438646554/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9111d492. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier JOJO'S FIRST WORD BOOK Twirl/Chronicle (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 3, 25 ISBN: 978-2-84801-943-7
This French import is an encyclopedic exploration of the world of a 2-year-old bunny named Jojo.On thinner-than-normal board pages, readers learn about Jojo and his family, Jojo's house, his neighborhood and other places he visits, and various animals. Each section is divided by a tabbed page of thick paperboard. Deneux's graphically simple and appealing cartoons on mostly white backgrounds in warm and inviting colors are the attraction here. Everyday objects are recognizable without being boring. The disjointed animal section is the least successful, and the spider and octopus as well as many insects have incorrect numbers of legs. The text, set in a difficult-to-read scriptlike type, consists of short sentences describing the scene (there is no story here) and captions just below the objects and animals. The whole package sports a thick paperboard "house" glued to the front cover, and a handle made of cord is fastened to the spine. These gimmicks undoubtedly triggered the choking-hazard symbol (indicating that the book is inappropriate for children under 3) found on the back of the book, despite the suggestion right above it that reads "Ages 18 months and up."Here's hoping Deneux can find a more developmentally appropriate package for his accessible cartoons. (Board book. 3-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: JOJO'S FIRST WORD BOOK." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A373030129/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3b96301e. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Opposites
Xavier Deneux. Chronicle/Handprint, $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4521-1725-6
Deneux brings a pared-down aesthetic and a subtle tactile dimension to this stylish exploration of opposites. Glued-on cardboard pieces on the left-hand pages dovetail neatly with recessed shapes on the right. "High" is represented by a cat atop a ladder, while "Low" uses the ladder's skinny rectangular shape to show a mole peering up from the bottom of a hole. A "Caged" lion weeps but becomes "Free" on the next page after the bars of his cage are lifted, while a "Heavy" (and cute) gray elephant echoes the shape of the "Light" cloud opposite. Fun for fingers, eyes, and minds. Available simultaneously: Colors. Ages 3-up.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
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"Opposites." Publishers Weekly, vol. 261, spring 2014, p. 66. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A375948834/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=98f0e3cd. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Deneux, Xavier COLORS Handprint/Chronicle (Children's Picture Books) $14.99 10, 1 ISBN: 978-1-4521-1726-3
A bold, graphic and tactile introduction to colors. On the thicker-than-normal board pages, part of the page is cut away to create a shaped indentation. Glued to the facing page is part or all of the positive space that was cut from the other side. On the first spread, a red, raised apple is fixed to the left-hand page. The right side features the inside of the apple, which is evoked by the apple-shaped indentation with two seeds floating in the center. This inventive format works its way through the other hues, one of the most clever being a blue submarine paired with a submarine-shaped, white whale indentation. The minimal text simply labels one color per page. The last double-page spread features a collection of balloons that mesh with an artist's palette on the facing page as the text asks, "So many colors! Which one is your favorite?" Using strong shades and solid and white backgrounds, Deneux's style is clean, clear and graphically appealing. The companion title, Opposites (978-1-4521-1725-6), uses the same format, but the technique of matching negative and positive space is even more apropos here. Prime examples are the "empty" and "full" fishbowl and the "heavy" elephant paired with a "light" elephant-shaped cloud. Compromising the usefulness of both titles is the legal warning on the back of both books that states that it is not for children under 3. This is a shame, as the mix of graphic simplicity and innovative tactile format would have made both of these delightful additions to the board-book canon; as it is, they represent choke hazards to babies and toddlers, who would most benefit from them. (Board book. 3-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Deneux, Xavier: COLORS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A354178261/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=94d38345. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.