Over in the Grasslands: On an African Savanna by Marianne Berkes and Jill Dubin
Over in the Grasslands: On an African Savanna is a children’s picture book written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin. It was published by Dawn Publications in 2013.
The cover title is set in Rat Fink Heavy, a display typeface designed by Ken Barber at House Industries. The bold, irregular letterforms create an informal and playful tone that complements the illustrated savanna setting and wildlife theme.
Supporting text, including the subtitle and interior body copy, is added in Chaparral, a humanist serif typeface designed by Carol Twombly for Adobe. Chaparral’s moderate contrast, open counters, and balanced proportions support readability in extended text, making it well suited for children’s educational publishing.
The combination of an expressive display face for the title and a readable serif for continuous text reflects a common typographic approach in contemporary picture book design.
The same typefaces are also used by other books by Berkes and Dubin, like Over on a Desert: Somewhere in the World, Over on a Mountain, Somewhere in the World, Over in a River, Flowing Out to the Sea, Over in Australia, Amazing Animals Down Under, and Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek.
