I mean elegance in the sense that the handling is just right and the end result seems inevitable. The concept of elegance is aligned with a gestalt-like unity, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Jutta Bauer (b. 1955) is a German writer and illustrator. She received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 2010. In my opinion her book Grandpa's Angel achieves elegance on a number of levels. Certainly her light touch as an illustrator and page designer is just right. The book has plenty of visual interest, and illustrations include a dash of perfect details (a bedpan, an airborne dog and bloody nose, a bandaged angel, a reluctant benefactor, and a tightly gripped shark.) The narrative moves along at a very natural pace, much like the writing of M. B. Goffstein, so there is elegance in the writing. But the biggest achievement of Grandpa's Angel is the elegance of its concept. As a retelling or memoir of life in Nazi Europe, which could be a heavy or overwhelming subject in this genre, Bauer handles the concept with exquisite grace—not too much and not too little. This is a rare thing.

Fans of William Steig and M. B. Goffstein should take a look at Jutta Bauer. What the world needs more of?