The Present by Bob Gill

What is that nice package in Dad’s closet, wrapped in shiny paper with stars on it tied with a bright red ribbon, partially hidden behind an old hat, a cardboard box, and a pair of hiking boots? Arthur’s birthday is coming in two weeks: it must be a present for him... This tale by Bob Gill goes beyond the frame of the book by suggesting an infinite possible list of presents wrapped in that shiny paper. Maybe the kite that he always wanted? Or a horn, to blow and make that strange sound? If the present was from Uncle Tony, it was gloves (he gives gloves every year), but the package could also contain a sailboat to take it to the pond in the park and try to sail it. Anyway, you can’t have a birthday without a birthday cake... Without unveiling the riddle, Bob Gill’s new book is a collection of real and imaginative surprises, that are to be filled by the reader following his own wishes, until the happy end. Bob Gill is a designer, an illustrator, a writer, a filmmaker, and a teacher. He was the Gill in the English design partnership, Fletcher/Forbes/Gill, which eventually became Pentagram, with offices all over except Antarctica. He’s written a number of books about design and illustration, had one-man exhibitions in Europe, South America, and in America, was elected into the New York Art Directors’ Club Hall of Fame, and the Design and Art Directors’ Association of London presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s also written many books for children. He’s now living in New York, teaching, and working independently.