Of the many things that leap out of a Priya Kuriyan illustration, the strongest — and, often, the most relatable — is her sense of humour and her eye for the everyday quirky. The Bengaluru-based illustrator, animator and comic book artist, 38, was declared the winner of the Big Little Book Awards in the illustrator category this week for her burgeoning body of work. Here are some of the works by the NID graduate that stand out for their ability to add depth and nuance to the narrative while ensuring that it is always fun. Princess Easy Pleasy, written by Natasha Sharma and illustrated by Kuriyan, is a board book meant for early readers (2015, Karadi Tales, appropriate for 4+ years). Sharma tells the story of a hard-to-please princess, prone to fits of tantrums on holidays, much to the growing alarm of the Royal Packer, entrusted with the duty of ensuring smooth vacations. Kuriyan’s large-scale illustrations capture the absurdity of her demands but also how easily children can transition from being tyrants to little angels, give or take a little bit of discipline. Kuriyan’s Ammachi’s Glasses (2017, Tulika Publishers, appropriate for 3+ years) is a wordless book that is redolent with the sights and sounds of Indian family homes. Ammachi wakes up one morning to find her glasses missing. A mad hunt ensues and the house is turned upside down but to no avail. Where could Ammachi’s glasses have gone? The story is simple but the details Kuriyan captures and the way she showcases different milieus and different times of the day can make one sit with the book for hours. Did you know that vultures pee on their legs to keep themselves cool? Children love scatological humour, especially if it comes with some interesting (read, gross) nuggets of (toilet) information to boot. The Poop Book (2018, Kalpavriksh, appropriate for 7+ years) by Tejaswini Apte-Rahm, Sujatha Padmanabhan and illustrated by Kuriyan serves both, speaking of how various animals poop and what use they put it to. Kuriyan’s paper-cut illustrations are an asset, given how text-heavy the design sometimes tends to be. Also, who would mind looking at the sheepish expressions of animals as they are caught mid-poop? Definitely not the children. Perhaps, not adults either.
