The Orange Book

Here is a tree with 14 juicy oranges. One by one, their fates are revealed by glancing through the book: the first has been given to an ill friend... the seventh has been divided between workmates... the tenth has been eaten by a famous pianist... And of course, the fourteenth has been bought by someone you know... and could be the next one that you’re going to eat.

Each fruit is an oranged coloured shape on a simple and essential background drawn with a blue pencil, filled with everyday characters and situations, on which the orange stands out creating a continuous visual and expressive link. The oranges are together in the very first page only: in fact The orange book is not merely a counting book, but a personal reflection by Richard McGuire about chance, possibilities, and circumstances, and about how everyday-moments are the inconscious result of their interlacements.

The orange book has been Richard McGuire’s first book. Conceived from an orange on the railway lines, this book has been awarded the Gold Medal by the Society of Illustrators.

This book is also available in Italian.