SuitabookInside the Villains
Clotilde Perrin
- Reading
- Read it collaboratively and let the child control the pace: explore one portrait, pause before opening its hidden sections, then read a story and trace its links to other tales. Handle the paper mechanisms carefully.
- Themes
- Villains and perspective: The Wolf, Giant and Witch are examined through lists of traits, secrets, belongings, weaknesses and related stories. The playful, revealing format invites curiosity about villains rather than presenting them only as distant threats; the stories still position them as antagonists who can be thwarted.
- Folklore across traditions: The book includes familiar stories, references to popular tales and the Slavic tale of Alyoshka and Baba Yaga, alongside a list including Japanese and other traditions. It presents folklore as a network of stories to recognise, compare and extend, bringing less familiar names alongside well-known tales.
- Interactive reading: Layered flaps, pull-tabs, strings, levers and gate-folds reveal physical and imagined aspects of the villains’ portraits. The design makes reading exploratory and collaborative, with the physical book itself supplying surprises alongside the written narratives.
- Worth knowing
- Some imagery may merit a quick preview: the portraits include knives, captive children, victims inside the wolf’s stomach, underclothes, frightening features and a child-snatching witch.