How Two Sisters Made Pictures for Two Books

Anna and Elena Balbusso make pictures that tell stories inside books. They first drew pictures for The Handmaid’s Tale in 2012. Later, the Folio Society put that book and The Testaments together. The sisters kept the earlier pictures and added one more. They also made a new set of pictures for the second book. The new edition gives both stories a home in one box.

The sisters read each story carefully before they start to draw. They choose moments that can show something important about the story. They also think about where each picture will go in the book. A picture can show how they understand a scene. It can give a reader another way to see it.

Colour helps the sisters show how life feels in each book. In the first book, they use white, black, grey, and red. For the second book, they give different colours to different groups. Green shows girls who are ready to get married. They use these choices on the covers as well as inside.

The sisters begin their pictures with simple materials like paper and paint. They use a computer to put those pieces together later. This lets them keep small marks from the paper. The two books use different colours but share the same way of making pictures. Together, the books show what pictures can add to words.