Een zakje knikkers #2

The cover of this second volume says everything without saying a word: two young boys huddle tensely in a doorway, pressing themselves against the wall as the boots and rifle of a uniformed soldier loom just inches away in the foreground. Vincent Bailly's delicate watercolor linework renders both the boys' frightened faces and the warm wooden floorboards with quiet, aching precision — a stark contrast to the cold threat at the door. Adapted from Joseph Joffo's beloved novel, Een zakje knikkers ("A Bag of Marbles") continues to be a deeply human story of childhood caught in the shadow of war, and Bailly's art gives it a visual tenderness that lingers.