Murmure des Mousses, an art book for children

Murmure des Mousses, written by the French author Karin Serres, is a very unusual piece of work. Aimed at babies and very young children, it consists of two French texts which can be read together or separately, depending on the child’s level of understanding. The first text, in the form of a short poem, plays on the musicality of sounds. The second, longer text, tells the story of soft moss growing on rocks (“mousses toutes douces” in French), and plays word games with similar-sounding French words for eyebrows, moustaches, shoes and blankets.

It is a beautiful book to read, listen to, feel and touch, entirely printed on ARCHES® Expression Texture white paper, which offers children new experiences as they grow, up to the age of three.

Karin Serres met Katsumi Komagata, a world famous Japanese illustrator in Tokyo, and they decided to combine their talents. Katsumi Komagata’s creative genius and aesthetic talent, which results in illustrations that are both simple and subtle, turns this tale into a universal message and enhances the author’s poetic words.

Le Cosmographe éditions

This publishing house for children’s literature, created by Chloé Becqueriaux in Épinal in 2017, publishes books for children with the aim of helping them discover the world and the diversity of its cultures.

“We encourage the power of aesthetic emotions to feed children’s imaginations, to raise their awareness of other people, and to support their curious and sensitive exploration of the world around them.” 

Chloé Becqueriaux

Chloé Becqueriaux is a young editor with an international background. She left Nantes at the age of 13 to follow her parents to Singapore and then to Hong Kong where she studied until she returned to France and obtained her university degree in the history of cultural relations. She then went on to complete a Master’s degree in publishing management at ESCP, which gave her the opportunity to work at the Grasset and Le Seuil publishing houses.

In her first job, Chloé worked as an international volunteer in the publishing office of the Romanian embassy. There she met her husband, and she returned to Lorraine with him at the end of her contract. She began mulling over the idea of creating a publishing house for children’s books in 2015. Over the next two years, she fine-tuned her plans and launched Cosmographe on 27 September 2017. Based in Épinal, Chloé works with Japanese, Chilean and Romanian artists. The principle of her books is to bring together authors and illustrators from different cultures.

Since October 2020, Chloé Becqueriaux has been living in Tokyo with her family. She promotes French books at the French Institute in Tokyo.

Karin Serres

Karin Serres is an author, director and theatre designer. Stage design led her to dramatic writing, which in turn led her to radio writing for France-Culture and France-Inter. She has written some 60 plays for the stage, half of which were for young audiences. She is passionate about making her living from writing and never stops inventing and sharing her projects.

Katsumi Komagata

Katsumi Komagata is an artist born in Japan in 1953. From 1977 he worked in the United States for CBS in New York. In 1981, he was awarded the silver medal by the Art Directors Club of New York. In 1983, Komagata returned to Japan and worked on corporate branding for Comme des garçons and Zucca. He is also art director for the photo magazine Déjà vu.
In 1986 he founded his own graphic design studio, One Stroke, which later became his publishing house.
Following the birth of his daughter Aï in 1989, Komagata first began designing children’s books in 1990.
He has been an active member of the Tokyo City Council for the Improvement of the Environment for Children since 1993.