Gallery: The Art of the Picture Book Barcode 2021
If you are looking for an example of the struggle between art and commerce, look no further than the humble picture book barcode.
Commerce says “The barcode has to be there, no matter what.”
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Art says “Okay, but let’s make it beautiful.”
To all the picture book makers and designers out there who seek new and delightful ways to incorporate the barcode into the overall aesthetic of the book, I salute you. And I salute author/illustrator Matthew Cordell, who gave me the idea for this post back in 2015.
Previously . . .
Gallery: The Art of the Picture Book Barcode 2019
Gallery: The Art of the Picture Book Barcode 2016
Gallery: The Art of the Picture Book Barcode
I present to you: The Art of the Picture Book Barcode 2021
Do you have one from 2021 that I missed? Email me a pic at scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Love these! I’ll keep an eye out for lovely barcodes in future.
They’re such a fun detail to look for
Such a fun collection! 🙂
Hi Sondy – thanks for checking out the post!
NO PANTS really cracked me up.
Yeah, that one is really great