Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Today, I’m having breakfast with author/illustrator Aaron Zenz, whose work is very much geared at toddlers and preschoolers. And this, I think, is something I don’t do enough here at 7-Imp — invite to the breakfast table, that is, those whose work is geared specifically at the crowd of very, very young, wee ones.

This isn’t Aaron’s first visit to 7-Imp. His bright, slapstick illustrations for The Hiccupotamus are featured in this older post (2009). As you’ll read below, that was Aaron’s debut title, and it’d be perfect for a preschool read-aloud or for the very youngest of listeners, filled with spot-on rhymes as it is, all hyper-outrageous and fun. His colorful, uncluttered colored pencil illustrations are gentle and full of cheer. As I’ve written before, your lap-sitters will take in these images with big, happy eyes. “Breezy” is a descriptor Kirkus has used to describe his art.

Aaron also visited here in 2011, showing some art from his newest title then, Chuckling Ducklings (which Betsy Bird also covered the same year).

And, as those of you who regularly read blogs probably know, his family’s book review blog, Bookie Wookie, is one of the greatest treasures of the so-called kidlitosphere.

Aaron’s having cereal with me this morning, since he describes himself as a cereal man. “I eat cereal all day long,” he said. “Breakfast. Lunch. Snacks. Our family sits down all together every day for a big dinner, but outside of that meal, I tend to eat cereal, cereal, cereal. And in particular, I have to have cereal for breakfast. If I eat something else instead—a doughnut or a bagel or pancakes—I’ll feel off for the rest of the day.”

Cereal it is—I’ll set out my most colorful cereal bowls for his visit—and I’ll get out some coffee for myself.

I thank Aaron for visiting. Let’s get right to it. Read the rest of this entry �

Last week at Kirkus, I chatted with author/illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton. That link is here. Today, I share some of her sketches and final art from both Amy Novesky’s Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her (Harcourt, June 2013)—the above sketch is from that one—as well as Marie Harris’s The Girl Who Heard Colors (to be released by Nancy Paulsen Books in September).

I also include here the response to one question that didn’t quite fit in last week’s Q&A.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

 
This morning I’m going to have cyber-breakfast with artist Chris Sickels, who creates sculptural and 3D illustrations and who illustrates children’s books (amongst other creative projects) under the name Red Nose Studio. I wish it weren’t a fake breakfast, and that’s because his breakfast of choice is, he told me, “the chocolate zucchini bread that my lovely wife Jennifer and my daughter Ava make together. Pair that bread with a cup of French press coffee, and that is the bee’s knees for me.” If I ever actually meet him in person, I’m going to remind him of this moment and hit him up for the zucchini bread and French press coffee. Coffee-lovers don’t forget such things.

Today’s post includes lots of Chris’s process images, a photographic sneak peek into how he created the art for his latest illustrated title, Jennifer LaRue Huget’s The Beginner’s Guide to Running Away From Home (pictured left), which was released by Schwartz & Wade Books last month. You may remember his 2010 illustrated title, which I covered here at 7-Imp — Here Comes The Garbage Barge, written by Jonah Winter and also published by Schwartz & Wade. To see art from that book, you can visit that 2010 7-Imp post (or even this one), but with the exception of some portfolio pieces at the close of this interview, all the images here today are from The Beginner’s Guide, a tale both funny and moving (the same illustration below that nearly brought Chris to tears, when making it, does the same for me when I see it) and which School Library Journal calls “imaginative and subversive.”

Let’s get right to it so that you can see how Chris creates his intricate worlds and also what’s next on his plate. I thank him for visiting 7-Imp today. Read the rest of this entry �

Can it really be Thursday already?

The week has raced by.

Today over at Kirkus, I chat with author/illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton, pictured here, about two of her recent illustrated titles, Amy Novesky’s Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her and (to come this Fall), Marie Harris’ The Girl Who Heard Colors.

That Q&A is here today.

Next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll follow up with some art and sketches from Vanessa.

Until tomorrow …

* * *

Photo courtesy of Vanessa Brantley-Newton.

Quick Note from Jules: Even though I’m not sure how to summarize what I do or what I want to be when I grow up, I have an intern this summer. She’s in charge of this post today, and by the way, she’s great! But, since she introduces herself so briefly below, I want to tell you a bit more here:

Susan previously worked as a preschool teacher and is now finishing up her Master’s degree in Education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She just moved to New York City and is also an aspiring author. She’s been assisting me with various types of work this summer; she’s not only assisted me where she can, for one, on the picture book grad course I’m teaching, but she’s also listening in on the lectures (and reading lots of picture books on her own, as I’m having my students do), ’cause she’s eager to learn like that. Susan is also interested in my freelance writing, as well at my blogging at 7-Imp, so I invited her to do some guest posts. This is her first. Welcome, Susan!

Hello, 7-Imp readers!

This is Susan A. Johns here, intern/ teaching assistant/ general errand-doer and go-getter to our beloved Jules. A few weeks ago, I had the distinct privilege of dropping by 7-Imp headquarters to sift through some of the beautiful and creative picture books circulating around the Danielson house. There were so many thought-provoking stories surrounded by such vibrant illustrations, I really didn’t know what to do with myself. I was engrossed in childhood nostalgia and drawn to the ways in which I could bring these books into my preschool classrooms. Read the rest of this entry �

This morning at Kirkus, I write a bit about what it’s like to attend your first ALA conference, which I just did. And I share some thoughts on why this particular conference was so enjoyable. That link is here.

If you missed it last week at Kirkus, I chatted here with author/illustrator Divya Srinivasan. And on Friday, I wrote here about Charlotte Moundlic’s The Bathing Costume: Or The Worst Vacation of My Life (Enchanted Lion, May 2013), illustrated by Olivier Tallec and originally released in France in 2011.

Today here at 7-Imp, I’ve got art from The Bathing Costume, as well as art from Divya (some spreads from Octopus Alone, released in May from Viking; some spreads from Little Owl’s Night, released in 2011 from Viking; and a few portfolio pieces from Divya).

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

I might be in the air right now, on my way to ALA Chicago, but due to the wonders of technology, I still have posts this week.

Today over at Kirkus, I chat with author/illustrator Divya Srinivasan about her work. Pictured right is an illustration from her newest picture book, Octopus Alone, which she discusses in our chat.

Next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll have some more art from Divya.

That Kirkus chat is here today.

Until tomorrow …

Last week at Kirkus, I wrote about Yuyi Morales’ newest picture book, Niño Wrestles the World, published this month by Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. That link is here.

Today, Yuyi visits to share some early sketches, dummies, final art, etc. I thank her for sharing. Let’s get to it … Read the rest of this entry �

In high school, my best friend and I would buy really bad romance novels and take a pen to them, re-writing the story in our own twisted ways. (Oh, how I wish I had kept at least one of those books.)

It’s certainly not a new idea. Many children, as picture book author Mac Barnett notes below, like to mess with books, deface images, channel their inner wise guy. When Mac and Jon Scieszka decided to join forces and create a picture book, Battle Bunny (Simon & Schuster), that looks as if a child has defaced an obscenely sweet story for children (think saccharine-sweet and totally hackneyed), it’s safe to say they had their work cut out for them. We simply haven’t seen the likes of such a picture book before — such a supremely subversive book, one that is essentially two stories being told simultaneously. (I’ve got an early copy of this book. I think it is scheduled to be released this Fall, though honest to Pete, I had thought it was this summer. I try not to post about books wildly early, but ah well. I’m forging ahead anyway.)

The underlying story? A bunny believes all his friends have forgotten his birthday, but in the end he’s given a surprise party. But along comes a child (so the reader is led to believe) with a marker, and this child has wreaked utter havoc on the story and artwork: That sweet birthday bunny is really a battle bunny, the kind who eats carrot juice brain juice and Carrot Crispies greasy guts for breakfast. And he’s actually not so sweet: He has an Evil Plan after all. (Make that birthday a doomsday, and off we go.) Many forest creatures try in vain to stop him. No worries: A boy, named Alex (the vandal we assume has put his pen to the sweet book) tries to stop the dastardly rabbit, and he has a few tricks up his sleeve, as well as a big secret (oh, and some assistance from the President).

Are you following all this? Yes, Jon and Mac wrote the sweet story first. The illustrator, Matthew Myers, illustrated said story. Then, they all got to work again. Defacing. Wrecking. Fun with disorder and disruption. Spray paint cans in hand. Mischief rules here.

I wanted to ask them precisely how they went about such a thing. All three of them. So, I did. I talked to Jon and Mac together, and then separately, I chatted with Matt. I did my best to weave it all together here. (In the process, incidentally, I discovered—thanks to Jon—that it is actually possible to read this book aloud, something I hadn’t thought do-able before. You gotta get a little help from your friends, but you can really and truly do it.)

Let’s get to it. Read the rest of this entry �

Here’s what I’m doing at Kirkus this week:

Today? Bob Shea makes me laugh and talks about how story is boss.

Oh, and we talk about his new books, including Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, which is pretty flippin’ great. Next week, I’ll follow up with lots of Shea art.

That link is here today.

Tomorrow, I write about Yuyi Morales’ Niño Wrestles the World. (Niño is pictured left.) That link will be here tomorrow morning.

And next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll follow up with art from Yuyi, as well as early sketches from the book.

Until later.