Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

How Zachariah OHora’s son inspired the character Nilson from his latest book
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No … wait just a second here …
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This morning I’m making lots of room at the 7-Imp breakfast table for Zachariah OHora and Nilson (pictured above), the tantrum-throwing star of Zach’s latest book, No Fits, Nilson! (Dial, June 2013), what Kirkus calls in their starred review an “amusing modern fable” and Pamela Paul at the New York Times describes as a “charmingly original take on an evergreen concern.” It’s a tight squeeze here at the table, and he nearly throws a fit about it, but Nilson just manages to fit. Plus, I gave him a gorilla eye lock, and he calmed down.

But it’s just Zach I’m going to chat with; Nilson’s busy eating some choco-banana ice cream. Zach says his breakfast-of-choice is a Dutch Baby. “Okay, that sounds weird,” he adds. “By ‘Dutch Baby,’ I mean the pastry made of eggs, flour, and butter in a skillet. Not the human.”

Zach’s debut picture book—Stop Snoring, Bernard!, which he both wrote and illustrated—up and won him the Society of Illustrators’ Founders Award (for new talent) in 2011. (That happened to be the year I juried for the Original Art award. The Original Art jury does not pick the recipient of the Founders Award, but I wholeheartedly cheered their choice that year anyway.)

Zach saw two picture book releases this year, which you’ll read about below — one written by the talented Lisa Wheeler. (This is the one book of his I’ve yet to see, and I must remedy this.) I loved Zach’s art as soon as I met it, and I’m pleased he’s sharing lots of it today over coffee. Let’s get to it. Read the rest of this entry �

“So you want a pet train? Well, of course you do! Trains make awesome pets — they’re fun, playful, and extremely useful. Lucky for you, this handy guidebook contains everything you need to know to choose, track, and train your very own pet train. Ready? Then let’s head out and find some trains!”
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It’s early, and power isn’t going to surge through me till I get some coffee, but before I do so, I’m here to share some art and one very possible visit from Jason Carter Eaton before breakfast.

Last week, here at Kirkus, I chatted with author/illustrator John Rocco about his most recent picture book, Super Hair-o & the Barber of Doom (Disney/Hyperion, May 2013), as well as Jason Carter Eaton’s How to Train a Train, to be released this September from Candlewick. So, I have some art from each book today.

And, as noted, BONUS: Jason is here to say a bit about his book, which is so good, you all, that I’m eager for you to see it, come Fall. I was so super busy with work this week that I gave Jason some general guidance but asked him, as you’ll see below, to generally submit an in-his-own-words piece about this book.

Let’s get right to it. Jason and some Train art are first, followed by some art from Super Hair-o (as well as a childhood photo of John, other than this one, that inspired the book).

I thank Jason for visiting — and especially for his in-his-own-words entry, even if he had to thieve to do it. Read the rest of this entry �

“Ruth Paul lives in an off-grid straw bale house in the middle of a paddock under a wind farm just outside Wellington, New Zealand,” says this site for Walker Books in Australia. And it’s to that straw bale house that I’m heading today (at least cyber’ly) to have breakfast with Ruth.

Ruth saw her U.S. picture book debut (Candlewick) this year with Hedgehog’s Magic Tricks, originally released last year by Walker Books. It’s a “story and artwork as delicate as milkweed floss,” wrote Kirkus Reviews.

I’ve corresponded with Ruth for a couple years now and was pleased to see her books released here in the States. Ruth even visited back in 2010, so be sure to visit that post if you want to see more of her art.

This morning we’re having, says Ruth, “knobbly poached free-range eggs (what’s left of them) with crispy free-range bacon (what’s left of it) on burnt toast, prepared and delivered by my kids. My husband has to make the good, strong coffee to go with it. We’ll plump up the pillows, let the sunshine in, and you can join me in your pyjamas for breakfast in bed.” I’m most excited about the good, strong coffee. Let’s get to it, and I thank Ruth for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

Here’s author/illustrator John Rocco as a child. You can see that he and his barber weren’t super tight.

But you never know about big hair: It could be concealing superpowers.

Today I chat with John at Kirkus about life post-Caldecott Honor, as well as his two new picture books, Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom (just released from Disney/Hyperion and which he both wrote and illustrated) and Jason Carter Eaton’s How to Train a Train, coming from Candlewick this Fall.

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

The Q&A is here.

“…his hands were nimble…”

 
Last week at Kirkus, I chatted with author Matthew Olshan and illustrator Sophie Blackall, who recently collaborated on The Mighty Lalouche, released this month by Schwartz & Wade Books. That Q&A is here, and today Sophie is sharing a few sketches, some of her research images (all the vintage photos you see below), and a sneak peek inside the book. The artwork, as you can read at the Q&A, was rendered in Japanese paper dioramas, or tatebanko.

(You can click on most of these images to enlarge them, though they’re a bit blurry in spots.)

Enjoy the images and artwork. Read the rest of this entry �

“We’d wait by the windows / gaining in size /
with plans for the nighttime / and daytime’s goodbyes”
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Philadelphia-based illustrator and designer Rita Carroll just officially became an illustrator and designer. She graduated last week from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, as you’ll read below, so I think it’s a great time to feature some of her artwork. This is something I typically do on the first Sunday of each month—feature, that is, a student illustrator or new-to-the-field illustrator—but she just earned that degree, so I think it’d be fun to do it now.

Here she is to tell us a bit about herself and share some of her artwork … I thank her for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

I’ve been chatting it up with people this week. Here’s the run-down:

I’ve always wanted to chat with picture book author Linda Ashman. Today, I get to. That link is here today.

Legend has it that Tom Jones—I’m sorry, but I just gotta post his picture now—passed out in the studio when hitting the final, dramatic note of “Thunderball” for the 1965 James Bond film of the same name. I sort of imagine author/illustrator Brian Floca similarly falling to the ground after having finished the artwork for Locomotive (coming from Atheneum this Fall), because it’s rather masterpiece’y. (That’s professional speak.) I won’t be at BEA this year, but I wrote about the book for Kirkus’ special BEA supplement (page 42!) in their current issue, and I chatted briefly with Brian about it. I’ll chat with him even longer in August and share some art then, too, from this beautiful piece of nonfiction.

Finally: Yesterday, I chatted with author Matthew Olshan and illustrator Sophie Blackall about The Mighty Lalouche, released by Schwartz & Wade this month. That Q&A is here, and next week I’ll have some of Sophie’s artwork, some sketches, and some of her research images.

Until later …

Last week at Kirkus, I wrote (here) about Cecil Castellucci’s and Sara Varon’s Odd Duck (First Second, May 2013) and wanted to be sure to invite them here to 7-Imp to talk a bit about this graphic novel for children, as well as showcase some art from it.

So, we three misfits sit here at the 7-Imp cyber-breakfast table. (Odd ducks RULE.)

I’m going to turn it over to them, while I pour the coffee and listen, and I thank them for visiting.

Read the rest of this entry �

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“and wait . . .”
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Pictured directly above is the illustration, as I mentioned in my BookPage review, in Julie Fogliano’s if you want to see a whale (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press), illustrated by Erin E. Stead, that took my breath away when I turned the page and first saw it. You should do yourself a favor today, if you’ll allow me to make the suggestion, and click on that image to embiggen it. And just soak it in for a while. Boy howdy and howdy boy, do I love that spread.

Above that are some images that show how Erin Stead got from point A (or somewhere near it) to point B.

Last week, I linked here at 7-Imp to my BookPage review of this book, and I thought it’d be fun to follow up here at 7-Imp with some art from the book. Then Erin sent some sketches, too, and some images of what her process was like in creating these beautiful illustrations (linoleum blocks and pencil, as you’ll read below). I thank her for taking the time to share.

She sent these just yesterday, and I thought I’d post them soon; given a busier-than-normal schedule this week, I figured I’d be lucky to post them this week at all. But I just read that today is the book’s big release day, so I decided to drop what I was doing and post this now. (You might think, if I didn’t admit these things, I were actually organized.)

If you read my review, you know I love this book. It’s a whisper to a friend, a book you should step away from a busy schedule to read and savor, and a beautiful thing to share with a child.

Here’s Erin … Read the rest of this entry �

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This morning over at Kirkus, I write about three picture book sequels of sorts, and that link is here.

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Last week at Kirkus, I chatted briefly with London-based illustrator Paul Thurlby. As a follow-up today, I’ve got some illustrations (two spreads) from his new book, one pictured above and the rest below. Paul Thurlby’s Wildlife was released by Templar in March. (And if you missed the award-winning Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet in 2011, I featured it here at 7-Imp.)

Enjoy the art. Read the rest of this entry �