Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

To say that designer and author/illustrator Chris Haughton (Ireland-born, but now living in London) has a no-nonsense artistic style all his own would be an understatement.

Back in January at Kirkus, I wrote about Haughton’s latest picture book, Oh No, George!, released by Candlewick this month. Haughton’s debut picture book was called Little Owl Lost (Candlewick, 2010), and—as I wrote in that Kirkus column—in both books, his digital illustrations are very stylized. These are child-like shapes, minimal backgrounds, quirky characters with ginormous eyes and a limited palette, all initially created with pencil.

And his books make me laugh. Read the rest of this entry �

This isn’t the first time illustrator Erin Stead has visited 7-Imp. About a year prior to the release of her Caldecott-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGree, written by Philip C. Stead (who happens to be her husband), she visited to share some early art and the tools she used to make the illustrations for the book. I have to say, when it won the 2011 Caldecott, you would have heard me screaming, had you been standing outside my home (yeah, I screamed that loudly in happiness and enthusiasm, but wait … why are you standing outside my home?), because back then, in 2009, my smart readers (who possess such good taste) and I all recognized it as the special picture book that it is. (To boot, she visited again in 2010, the year the book was actually released, to share even more.)

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Meet Davy’s Mom and Dad. Davy’s got these doting folks all to himself, and life is good. That is, till his new, little brother arrives. And then the next one. And the next one. And the one after that.

This is Another Brother (Feiwel & Friends), the new picture book from author/illustrator Matthew Cordell, the second one he’s both written and illustrated (though he’s illustrated many others), to be released at the end of this month. And it’s funny. So very funny.

You can see Davy below and how he feels about these encroaching siblings. Cordell had me at the headband. Clearly, Davy aspires to rock star status. And that’s just it: That’s the kind of detail Cordell will put into his illustrations that ring so true to childhood. You know that kid who was so earnest, tried so hard, successfully reached a certain level of cluelessness as to the fact that others disdained (and quite possibly snort-laughed at) his rock star yearnings? Didn’t care so much that he may have been construed as dorky by others? (Maybe that kid was you. It certainly was me, though I wanted to be an anchorwoman, not a rock star. Er, no comment.) Yeah. That. Cordell nails it here.

Another Brother is being greeted here in the land of early 2012 with a host of starred reviews. “Cordell emphasizes the humor in the once only child’s whiplash of conflicting emotions,” writes Pamela Paul here at the New York Times. “Baby brothers may be a pain, but the havoc they create can be painfully funny.” In Kirkus’ starred review, they note that this “is not just another new-baby book.” Matt’s “humorous text and mischievously silly, expressive cartoon art,” the reviewer adds, “make this one stand out in the crowd.” (Or, as the Booklist reviewer put it, Matthew “takes the old picture-book staple of an only child upset by the arrival of a new sibling and turns it up to 11.”) True, there are tons of very funny details, and Davy’s change of heart in the story—I don’t want to entirely ruin the read for you, but essentially his resentment over his brothers mimicking him suddenly turns into loneliness when they finally stop—is both funny and poignant. And, again, it’s real. It (and many of Matt’s illustrations) speaks so accurately to the awkward moments of childhood. (Let it be said that Cordell is not one to make it all look rosy and impossibly, overly cute.) Read the rest of this entry �

I initially created this interview format, the Seven Questions Over Breakfast one, for brand-new illustrators — so that my readers and I can meet up-and-coming artists. Turns out I use it for more experienced authors and artists as well, ’cause the ready-made format, given my busy schedule, makes it, quite simply, easier to post any interviews at all. But my point? Today’s featured illustrator, Stephen Shaskan, is definitely new to the scene, his first published picture book released last Fall by Chronicle Books (and featured here at 7-Imp). Having this cyber-breakfast with him is, I think, a good introduction, a way for all of us to get to know his work a bit more.

Stephen’s thickly-lined and quite manic art from A Dog Is a Dog was met with good reviews. “Shaskan’s debut looks simple,” wrote Publishers Weekly, “but it’s in fact a polished and controlled piece of work. … There’s a chunky, woodcut feel to Shaskan’s hip and cheery art, and he gives each of the animals abundant personality.” As I already said here at 7-Imp in the 2011 post, I liked his debut. It’s a fun and clever book for the youngest of readers, and I look forward to what comes next from Stephen (whose last name, he likes to assist readers, rhymes with “trash can”).

So, I invited him for a breakfast interview to find out what does come next for him. His breakfast-of-choice? “Dim sum. Especially the steamed pork buns, shrimp with cilantro dumplings, Chinese broccoli, and crispy shrimp balls!” He added, “if you’re ever in Minneapolis, I’ll have to take you to the Mandarin Kitchen. If you’re super adventurous, you can try the chicken feet, shark fin, and beef stomach!”

Well, dim sum for breakfast is new for me, but I’m game. I’m going to put on lots of coffee, too, as usual.

I thank Stephen for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

It’s that time of year, dear readers. It’s when I like to look back on what happened at 7-Imp during the year and look at who graced the site with their presence—all with my buddy here, Alfred—because evidently I am slightly to moderately screwy in the head. (It’s taken me over a week just to pull all this together.) Actually, I just really enjoy end-of-the-year recaps of every kind, and—as I said in 2010’s recap post—this is my warped idea of tidy fun. Also, it satisfies the tremendous picture book junkie in me.

As my regular readers know, I am devoted here at 7-Imp to focusing on contemporary illustration (well, not always contemporary — there are some exceptions) — with a particular focus on picture books. So, even though I certainly didn’t have the time to cover every book I wanted to discuss, not to mention I didn’t read every picture book created in 2011, 7-Imp end-of-year recaps can be an awful lot like looking back at the state of picture books during a given year, which I also find really fun. That’s one way of saying: This long post is good for browsing, especially if you like to see picture book art.

If I take a look at what was new to 7-Imp in 2011—before we look at who visited, that is, and all kinds of artwork—I run the risk of actually sounding organized, which I’m not. Or as if I’m someone who blogs 40 hours a week, which I’m also not. Since blogging comes after my children, the work-that-pays, and other things that allow me to have a life, I’m kind of scattered, have no real 7-Imp Action Plans, and you should just see my system of organization (chicken-scratch-scrawled Post-it notes stuck all over my very messy desk). But let me give this a shot anyway, an attempt to ponder what was new in 2011: Read the rest of this entry �

This morning, for my last breakfast interview of 2011, I welcome one of the hardest-working illustrators (and authors and designers) in children’s literature, whom the Washington Post described as “one of the most dynamic, original, colorful and humorous cartoonists working today.” Just this year, Bob Staake—who is also an editorial illustrator, as well as a cover illustrator for the New Yorker—illustrated two titles, if I’m counting correctly, and a visit to this page of his site shows he has nearly ten titles soon to be released. As he notes below, he is author and/or illustrator of over 50 children’s books to-date in his career.

If Staake didn’t consistently produce such exciting illustrations (of great “compositional flair and imagination,” in the words of Booklist), to me he’d merely be That Blessed Guy Who Took On the Contemporary Adaptation of Struwwelpeter. (Yes, he has a special place in my heart for his gutsy 2006 re-imagining of Heinrich Hoffmann’s 19th-century cautionary tale for children.) But he does much more, bringing readers colorful and engaging books (particularly engaging in the case of this year’s Look! A Book! from Little, Brown) on a regular basis, his bold, graphic, and highly stylized digital artwork providing a feast for young eyes. (Drawn went so far as to write in this 2006 interview, “To say that Bob Staake is just an illustrator is like saying The Beatles were just a bunch of musicians; the title doesn’t do the artist justice.”) Best of all, as he writes at his site, his books range from “the goofy and silly to the thought-provoking and mysterious.” With both words and pictures, he adds, he aims to entertain but also ask young readers to “wonder, question and think.”

And, as you can see in some of the art Bob shares below, his work can be refreshingly honest and wickedly funny. (His Facebook status updates still remain one of the top-five reasons I don’t just drop my account already. A recent example of Bob engaging with his readers: “Santa’s List Of Rejected Reindeer Names:” … And let me just say Bob has funny friends, and I’m talkin’ to you, Michael Herron, who responded with “Sphincter.” Jimmy Mutch’s “Thud” comes in a close second for me.)

Well, let’s turn it over to Bob now, shall we? He says he’s not a huge breakfast guy, unless I include a pot of French Roast before noon. Ah. A coffee-lover after my own heart. I’ll get the basics from him, while the coffee brews.

I thank him for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

My visitor this morning, illustrator (and soon-to-be-author) Don Tate, has been in this field for a while now, having illustrated over forty trade and educational books for children. He likes to stress that he’s not an artist with a trademark style — and that first and foremost he’s a commercial artist, not a fine artist. And, to give us an idea of this, today he purposely includes many of his “looks,” if you will, in this breakfast Q & A.

I managed to pull off this interview right when I wanted to — right before Christmas. Those of you who celebrate it may be interested in seeing Don’s latest illustrated title, Anna Harwell Celenza’s Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, released by Charlesbridge in November and which, I must add, is accompanied by a CD of Ellington’s Suite. (A spread from the book opens this post.) This picture book highlights the 1960 collaboration between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn to create Ellington’s swingin’ version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. Using India ink, acrylic watercolors, and chalk, Tate renders the composition of this piece with spunk and high energy. “The brilliant music cues Tate’s full-bleed mixed-media pictures,” writes Kirkus. “Bold ink strokes outline and define figures—Duke’s quizzical forehead and Strays’ distinctive cheekbones are expressive squiggles—and create movement across paint-spattered spreads studded with stars, snowflakes and musical notes. The palette marries rich violet-blues with hot, harmonious yellows, sepia and crimson.”

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Often, when I do these illustrator interviews, I think I’m super familiar with the work as a whole of the artist I’m Q-&-A’ing, but then I make the good discovery that there’s a title or two I’ve missed, which sends me running to my local library or bookstore to find them. In the case of today’s interview, though, I’ve read every book author/illustrator Jonathan Bean has illustrated and have followed his career with great interest. He’s done only a handful of books and he took a bit of a break as well. But I’m so happy he’s back with a new illustrated title, One Starry Night, released by Margaret K. McElderry Books in October of this year — the second picture book by the talented Lauren Thompson that he has illustrated. I happen to think it’s beautiful—just take a look at one of the spreads, pictured here (I love that palette)—and I’m really drawn in general to his work.

That was a rather long-ish way of saying I’m extra pleased he’s visiting for breakfast this morning and sharing sketches and artwork. Read the rest of this entry �

In her career as an author/illustrator—not her first, by any means, since she once dug dinosaur bones, as well as worked as a geologist for the Forest Service—Lita Judge (pictured above, making curtains with help from her cat, Pu) has brought readers a handful of insightful nonfiction picture books. A visit to the web site devoted to her debut title proves her devotion to high-quality nonfiction for children, not to mention I’ve seen an early copy of her upcoming Spring 2012 Roaring Brook Press title, Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why, which is beautiful. (No doubt she was inspired by her ornithologist grandparents, as well as her parents who were, as she notes below, wildlife photographers.)

But her latest title, released this November by Atheneum, is a work of fiction. Red Sled (my thoughts on it are over at last week’s Kirkus column) has been met with starred reviews across the board, the official Kirkus review even calling it nothing less than “pure genius.” There are so many well-crafted 2011 picture books for the current Caldecott committee to pore over and discuss, and who knows … perhaps this one is at the top of their stack. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me at all if it were.

This isn’t Lita’s first visit to 7-Imp (see here and here), but it’s a treat to have her sit down at the breakfast table today. I do quite a few of these cyber-breakfast interviews, but I have to say this one was a particular pleasure to format, given Lita’s thoughtful answers, the artwork and images she shares, and her obvious passion for illustration and picture books. I am also struck by how much of her life is so truly entrenched in the natural world — not mostly separate from it, as it is for so many of us. (Well, I guess I should speak for myself here.)

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As you can see here in a comic she created, illustrator Abigail Halpin has known since childhood that she wanted to illustrate. If you’re like me, you’ve seen her cover and interior artwork in several middle-grade novels, all listed below. Early this year, she also illustrated Kallie George’s original fairy tale, The Melancholic Mermaid (published by Simply Read), which I suppose is a sort of hybrid picture book/illustrated novel.

I’ve followed Abigail’s work with interest over the years, and it’s a real treat to have her visit this morning, especially given the fact that she shares a lot of character studies and artwork below, not previously published in books, which are very different from the pen and ink drawings of hers we’ve seen in novels. (I’m particularly fond of her Steampunk image and would love to read a story swirling around that one.) Fortunately, she shares a bit of everything below, and I thank her for visiting, as well as for bringing so many images to the breakfast table. Let’s get right to it so that you can see it all.

Her breakfast-of-choice today? “Huevos Rancheros and a whole lotta’ coffee, ” she told me, adding that she’s a former barista, “so the coffee part is crucial.” A visitor after my own heart. Read the rest of this entry �