Draw me a story! – Perspectives on illustrated children’s books
Keen to reveal a little-known part of its collections, the Martin Bodmer Foundation is presenting its first temporary exhibition dedicated to the world of childhood: Draw me a story! – Perspectives on illustrated children’s books, from 17 September 2026 to 20 June 2027.
An essential field of literature due to its role in reader development, but also because of its creativity and its roots in art history, illustrated children’s books are among the most creative and high-quality works available. Yet they remain disregarded by general literature specialists and largely unknown to the general public, who are often only familiar with the most commercial productions.
General exhibitions are rare, and ultimately the last major exhibition devoted to children’s publishing was that of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Babar, Harry Potter & Cie, presented in Paris in 2008. The Foundation therefore wanted to put on an exhibition aimed particularly at the general public, exploring this literature which has always been shaped by our perception of childhood in a given era and society. The unique nature of child readers and their reading habits will also be examined. Children’s literature, particularly in Switzerland, shows a strong connection with nature and exposes children to nature in particular: we therefore propose to link the child’s approach to that of nature in one of the sections of the exhibition. This will also enable us to respond to the public’s interest in ecological and even eco-poetic subjects with installations that are at the cutting edge in terms of environmental respect
Among the treasures that the Foundation wishes to display as part of Draw Me a Story! are prestigious objects that have never before been shown in Switzerland.
Past exhibitions