Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Rainbow Goblins by Ul de Rico

Roy G. Biv, eat your heart out. We’re taking a deep dive into a listener suggestion with a trippy dippy 1978 German import from an Italian creator who retired to France! Today we’re talking Optimus Prime, The Never Ending Story, rock album covers, and carnivorous flowers/rainbows. If you’re into long, languorous moments in picture books where people drown, have I got a book for you!! A pourquoi story done in an utterly original fashion.

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Show Notes:

If you’d like to see even more art from this book you can do so here.

Magic Eye endpapers! Not really, but this has all the markings you’d expect in such a thing.

“It’s like the Last Supper but if all the guys were multi-colored aliens.”

There was, for a great glorious time, a brief period where the artists behind record albums would on occasion do children’s books. I remember it particularly from World Tales by Idries Shah, but you can certainly see it in these Lord of the Rings-esque two page spreads.

A thumb-sucker on the far left is an interesting thing to include in this sleeping image. Remember, these are the bad guys.

Not that you really need it, here’s a clear cut indication that this is a book of the European persuasion. As I mention, “They aren’t afraid of butts.”

“So the goblins drowned in the colours they had come to steal, and no one in the Valley wept for them.” Love that bluntness. Death by melting flowers is a new one on me. Haven’t seen that one before!

However, that goblin butt? Seen that before.

Betsy Recommends: The new Leonard Marcus book Pictured Worlds: Masterpieces of Children’s Book Art by 101 Essential Illustrators from Around the World.

Kate Recommends: The podcast Bone Valley

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate