Going Inside the Board Book with Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen is an award-winning author and illustrator known for children’s books that blend simplicity with subtle darkness and dry humor. His latest work, The House With Nobody In It, is a board book designed like a house with cutout doors and windows. The text describes each room in the house while stating there is 'nobody' inside, though a ghost is visible in the illustrations. Board books are sturdy, thick-paged books designed for young children, often featuring interactive elements like cutouts. Klassen’s book plays with the idea of an empty house, where the ghost and the reader become the exceptions to the 'nobody' rule. The format mimics early video games, where movement between rooms is triggered by entering doorways, creating a sense of anticipation and mystery. The book’s design and narrative structure make it engaging for both children and adults, despite its simplicity.

Jon Klassen recently won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a prestigious international prize recognizing outstanding contributions to children’s literature. The award was a surprise to Klassen, who received a phone call from the entire jury informing him of the honor. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is one of the most significant awards in children’s literature, with a prize value of 5 million Swedish kronor (approximately $500,000 USD). Klassen’s work is celebrated for its unique style, which allows for darkness and wit often absent in traditional children’s books. The award highlights the importance of children’s literature as a valid form of artistic expression, a perspective strongly embraced in Sweden, where the award is based.

The design of The House With Nobody In It was inspired by early video games like Zelda and Adventure for Atari, where players move between rooms by entering doorways, creating suspense about what lies ahead. Klassen also drew inspiration from guided meditation sessions he experienced in high school, where the narrator’s flat, calm tone and present-tense delivery influenced the book’s narrative style. The book’s structure mimics a guided meditation, with a neutral, instructional voice guiding the reader through each room. Additionally, the phrase 'nobody' in the title may reference Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s book Goodnight Moon, which famously ends with the line 'Goodnight nobody.' These influences combine to create a book that feels both familiar and subtly unsettling.

For The House With Nobody In It, Klassen focused on the physicality of the book as an object, using solid, click-filled colors for the rooms and letting the cutout doors and windows serve as part of the illustration. This approach differs from his usual illustration process, where he typically creates more detailed drawings. The book’s design emphasizes the interactive elements, such as the doors and windows, which frame the illustrations within each room. Klassen also experimented with the narrative voice, using phrases like 'let’s' to create a sense of instruction or authority, which aligns with the board book format, where the text is often read aloud by an adult to a child. This voice feels gentle but also slightly misleading, as the 'nobody' in the house is not entirely accurate.

Klassen and his frequent collaborator Mac Barnett have discussed the importance of accessing childhood memories when creating works for children. However, having his own children has reinforced the idea that childhood days are fast, carefully observed, and deeply meaningful. Klassen notes that his books are not necessarily written for his children but stem from the same place as his earlier work. Parenthood has deepened his understanding of the speed and intensity of childhood, as well as the differences between children’s experiences. Despite this, he maintains that his creative process remains rooted in accessing his own childhood memories, though parenthood has provided a fresh perspective on the validity of those memories.

Sweden has a straightforward and matter-of-fact view of children’s literature as a valid and important form of expression. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award reflects this perspective, treating children’s books with the same seriousness as literature for adults. Klassen has attended conferences in Sweden and observed that the country’s cultural attitude toward children’s literature is inclusive, allowing for complexity, nuance, sadness, and other themes typically reserved for adult literature. This approach contrasts with cultures where children’s literature is sometimes seen as less significant or less capable of exploring deep themes. Sweden’s embrace of children’s literature as a legitimate art form has inspired Klassen and influenced his work.