Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“ONCE UPON A TIME … on the shortest street with the longest name
in the biggest palace with the HUGEST throne …”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
Just look at this castle, which can only come from the singular paintbrush of Rowboat Watkins. It is the first spread of Sally Lloyd-Jones’s Tiny Cedric (Anne Schwartz Books, February 2022).

This palace is the home of the “tiniest king,” whose name is Cedric, King ME the First. It’s the biggest possible palace with the “HUGEST throne,” and it sits on “the shortest street with the longest name.” (And since it’s hard to see the name of this road, given the size of that image, it’s: Don’t Even Think of Turning Here Because You Are So Absolutely Not Invited Boulevard.)

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Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I talk to Kathlyn J. Kirkwood about her new middle-grade memoir in verse.

In Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round: My Story Of The Making Of Martin Luther King Day (Versify, January 2022) with illustrations by Steffi Walthall, Kirkwood shares memories of her growing civic awareness and activism as a teenager in Memphis as well as her decades-long struggle to turn Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday into a national holiday.

Our chat is here.

Photo of Dr. Kirkwood is © Padrion Scott, Sr. / P. Scott Photography.

 

I’ve got a Q&A over at Chapter 16 with author Alice Faye Duncan. We discuss her two new picture books — Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote, illustrated by Charly Palmer, and Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo.

The Q&A is here.

 
Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell ventures into the world of early readers with his new book, Cornbread & Poppy. Over at BookPage, I chat with him about this. That Q&A is here.

And here is my review of the book.

Below are some early sketches from the book as well as some final art. (Pictured above is the book’s title-page illustration.) I thank Matt for sharing!

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I’ve a review over at the Horn Book of Seth Fishman’s When I Wake Up (Greenwillow, December 2021), illustrated by Jessixa Bagley — an adventurous tribute to the imagination of children and a day’s endless opportunities. And here at 7-Imp today, Jessixa shares things like early sketches and character tests, and some final spreads are also pictured below. I thank Jessixa for sharing. (Pictured above is an early character sketch.)

The review is here.

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It is a pleasure to have Ruth Chan visit 7-Imp today to share some preliminary images and final art (and neighbor photos!) from Thank You, Neighbor! (Harper, September 2021)

“Every day, we go for a walk,” the book opens. The child (who has, hands down, the best shirt) and pet dog you see pictured above take a walk through their truly diverse and inclusive neighborhood — taking their time (“even when the neighborhood is crowded”), stopping to say hello to neighbors, chatting with community workers (“our neighbors [that] keep us safe”), noticing how their neighbors take care of each other, and always saying “thank you,” even when things get busy. That’s the gist of the narrative here, and it somehow feels revolutionary in today’s world.

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It’s a pleasure to welcome author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier to 7-Imp today. He visits to discuss and share images (both preliminary images and final art) from his most recent books, all published this year.

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(Click image to enlarge)

 
Today, I’m happy to welcome author-illustrator Steven Weinberg, who is here to talk about his new board book series, the Big Job Books, as well as the illustrated chapter book he released earlier this year, The Middle Kid (Chronicle, March 2021).

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In the art-filled chat I bring you today with author Colleen Paeff and illustrator Nancy Carpenter, Colleen says of Nancy’s illustrations for The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem (Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2021): “The way she combines humor and historical detail with a dash of irreverence just feels so right for this story.” That comment stands out to me, because it’s how I’d describe this book as whole, one whose humor, historical detail, and dashes of irreverence — in both art and text — work together to tell an informative and entertaining story of just what the title tells you, what history calls “the Great Stink.”

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Earlier this week over at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott, we featured a Q&A with Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade and asked her what her year has been like. Micheala won the 2021 Medal for We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom.

That Q&A is here. We are grateful she took the time to talk to us.

[Michaela’s photo credit: Sydney Akagi.]

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