Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

It’s a pleasure to welcome Richard Michelson to 7-Imp today. I don’t want to belabor this introduction, since I think this interview is full of all kinds of goodness and I want you to get right to Rich’s words, but for those who might need it, I offer a Rich Michelson 101:

Rich is a poet and children’s book author, whose books have received many honors, including the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal) in 2009 for the stirring As Good As Anybody: Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King’s Amazing March Towards Freedom, illustrated by Raul Colón. Clemson University named Michelson the R. J. Calhoun Distinguished Reader in American Literature for 2008. Rich has worked with a whole slew, to be precise, of talented illustrators — not only in his well-crafted picture-book writing and poetry work, but also as the owner of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts, a most wonderful-looking visual arts space I long to visit myself. It is in this space that Rich champions and showcases the work of many of today’s contemporary picture book illustrators (as well as the work of those who have passed). Read the rest of this entry �

Meet Flora. Here she is, about to disappoint a sparrow who has asked for her baby brother, Crispin. Just a little while ago, Crispin had very much turned Flora’s day upside down, and let’s say she wasn’t feeling too sisterly. But, after a strong gust of wind blows Flora and Crispin away and all kinds of forces of nature (an eagle, the clouds, the moon, a rainbow) ask for Crispin’s hand, Flora discovers that she’s not quite that ready to give him up for good after all, as tempting as it might be — and even though little brothers can do things like spill your paints and altogether ruin your artistic process. Yeesh.

Flora’s Very Windy Day (Clarion, August 2010) sprung from the pen of Jeanne Birdsall, pictured left, and the paintbrush of Matt Phelan. Just as this beautiful picture book will, Jeanne’s previous novels on the Penderwick family will blow you away. I know. Ouch. Excuse my terrible pun. But it’s true. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, published in 2005 by Random House/Yearling, is—if you haven’t already read it and its 2008 sequel yourself—wonderful and funny, and it was Jeanne’s first novel, no less. The superb writing therein was acknowledged by The National Book Foundation as a 2005 National Book Awards Winner in the category of Young People’s Literature. The reviews for The Penderwicks on Gardam Street were nothin’ to sneeze at either. My favorite, which really nails the charm of both Penderwick titles, comes from School Library Journal’s starred review: “This is a book to cherish and to hold close like a warm, cuddly blanket that you draw around yourself to keep out the cold.”

And Flora? I already mentioned this book is beautiful. I mean to tell you BREATHTAKING. Read the rest of this entry �

When I first chatted online with blogger Cristiana Clerici, who lives in Parma, Italy, and writes at the wonderful Tea Box, she told me that her blog was an ambitious idea and that she hoped she’d be good enough for it. Well, I think she’s proven that she is.

Over at The Tea Box, Cristiana shares her love of books, particularly international picture books. She maintains three pages in three languages (Italian, English, and French), so most of her time goes into translating her own posts. Wow, huh? I mean, wow just wow. I don’t think I’ll further complain about being busy; here at 7-Imp, I’m writing in only one tongue. Not three. And not maintaining three separate pages. Wow again.

Her goal over at The Tea Box? To aid libraries who are willing to implement or improve upon their collection of international titles; to assist editors who are looking for new, interesting titles; and to simply entertain and enlighten curious readers. She is following books from all over — with special attention to Italy, the United States, the UK, France, Spain, and South American countries. Read the rest of this entry �

For one of Julia Denos’s recent illustrated titles, Erica S. Perl’s Dotty, Publishers Weekly had this to say about her artwork: “Denos’s…paintings are an unadulterated delight, combining the naïf styling of scribbly children’s drawings for the creatures and the easy, playful elegance of pattern book illustrations from the 1950s.” I like this, because “unadulterated delight” would be a good description of my very first response to her art work, years ago, when I first discovered it. Just don’t call her illustrations “cute”; as you’ll see below in her responses to the Pivot Questionnaire, that may not be her favorite descriptor. But that’s just the thing about her artwork: On the surface, it seems light and cheery, what with her lush, luminescent watercolors, but look carefully. It’s not all easy-breezy sunny flowers and fashionable young ladies. Denos injects a just-right, subtle drama into her work. As one reviewer for Cecil Castellucci’s Grandma’s Gloves (the other of Julia’s 2010 illustrated titles) wrote, “she also shows a real gift for portraying both characters and a setting marked by loss.” And Julia’s other strong suit? Her distinctive, can-spot-it-from-a-million-miles-out-in-space style, all her own.

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Roll out the red carpet: Jon Scieszka is here—wait! That’s right. He’s no longer the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. That title has been handed to the honorable Katherine Paterson. But Jon, you may remember, was the inaugural ambassador, appointed such in 2008 by the Library of Congress. And I can’t help but still envision him with that lovely, stylish sash.

It’s a pleasure to have the acclaimed author and the very funny Jon visit again. (Surely, you all don’t need an introduction? If so, how about I do it simply this way: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; The Time Warp Trio series; The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales, which got some Caldecott love; and Trucktown. ‘Nough said?) He’s here to talk about his new science fiction book/multimedia project, Spaceheadz, written with Francesco Sedita, but while I have him here, I’m also taking the opportunity to ask him about how Guys Read is faring, about the great and abiding Stinky himself, whether or not we’ll ever be treated to more stories with this dynamic duo, and a few other things. And several folks stopped by to contribute art, since I seem to be physically incapable of doing posts sans illustrations.

First off, Spaceheadz, since you may be scratching your head and thinking, SpaceWHAT? What in the what the?… Well, here’s how it all begins (the cover and interior artwork for the book created by Shane Prigmore):

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I love this post, yet I can’t take credit for the idea.

You all remember 2008’s Hush, Little Dragon (Abrams), written by Boni Ashburn and illustrated by Kelly Murphy, yes? I loved this delightfully subversive, subtly ghoulish little wonder, what the San Francisco Chronicle called “Sweeney Todd for the sandbox set” (it brought “a welcome tartness to mother love,” wrote the Washington Post), in which a mama dragon and her wee dragon settle down for the night (set to the tune of Hush, Little Baby), pondering which of the villagers in their medieval home they will snack upon in the way of a bed-time treat.

Well, Boni has written a sequel, released by Abrams this March, in which we visit the same dragons and village, and this time it’s set to the tune of Over in the Meadow, making this one a counting book, as well. Over at the Castle brings Boni and Kelly together again. And when I asked Boni about visiting 7-Imp to talk about the new title, she had a pretty kickin’ idea, and that would be to ask three other folks the same four questions she answered, in order to bring us unique perspectives on the process of picture-book-making: the illustrator, Kelly Murphy (who rendered this title in acrylic, oil, and gel medium); the editor, Maggie Lehrman; and the art director/book designer, Chad W. Beckerman. I love the idea so much I want to build a wayback machine and actually go to the prom, taking the idea as my date. (Shut up! No, I didn’t go. My contrarian friends and I filmed a horror-movie spoof that night instead, but I digress.) I even think it’d be fun to consider doing similar posts in the future. Kudos to Boni for the idea!

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I feature a lot of illustrators here at 7-Imp, but I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve given something like a full-length interview to an illustrator like Hiroe Nakata, visiting this morning (and pictured here with her young daughter), who creates illustrations almost exclusively for preschoolers. To be sure, she’s illustrated books for older readers, too, but for bright, inviting, sunny art work geared towards the very young, Hiroe won’t let you down.

Publishers Weekly once described Hiroe’s watercolors as “ebullient,” and that pretty much covers it. Title after title, her light-infused watercolors, typically depicting warm, loving families at play, engage the youngest of child readers — or listeners. Hiroe’s illustrated titles are great choices for intimate lap-time reads with wee children.

I invited Hiroe for a breakfast chat to find out how she got started, where she’s been, and what she’s up to now. Her breakfast-of-choice is Eggs Benedict with fries (mmm, I wholeheartedly endorse that), and I’ll bring the strong coffee. I thank her kindly for stopping by.

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Gianna Marino, my 7-Imp visitor this morning, debuted her picture-book work in 2005 in a book Kirkus called a “lively, engaging debut,” Zoopa: An Animal Alphabet (Chronicle Books 2005). Just when you think you’d seen every approach to alphabet books, along came Gianna with a fresh one in this wordless picture book, featuring a bowl of alphabet soup and a colorful menagerie of creatures surrounding it. In Spring of this year, Gianna followed the title up with One Too Many: A Seek & Find Counting Book, also released by Chronicle Books. This one features one flea, bouncing between farm animals, its path traced in a thin silver arc. Kirkus wrote, “Marino’s illlustrations are marvelously striking, positioning animals that are largely black and white, with a bit of sepia, against blue sky (that modulates to pink and then to night) and sandy barnyard,” adding that it’s “a rare counting book with wide appeal.” This nearly wordless title definitely holds some treasures for the eager, observant child reader.

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Almost exactly one year ago, when Mac Barnett and Adam Rex visited the blog, Mac mentioned a book published in 1979, I believe it was—But No Elephants, written and illustrated by Jerry Smath—which Mac said he’d “probably read 4,000 times.” I noticed in the comments that, almost one year later, Smath himself stopped by the post to type:

“Mac,

Thanks for your kind words … now please see some of my other books, and my new illustrations in Lola: A Shrew Story.

Jerry Smath”

Well, it’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally got some of those illustrations to show today, and that’s because the author of that picture book, Ellen Weiss—who has written over 150 children’s titles—is here this morning to talk a bit about not only that book, but another of her new titles, also released this Spring, as well as to discuss what’s next for her. Read the rest of this entry �

Pictured here is the wee baby version of author/illustrator Amy Schwartz. I’m immensely pleased that the grown-up Amy is visiting 7-Imp today, as I’ve been a long-time fan of her picture books and the understated charm and humor of her stories and illustrations. Last November, I wrote a sort of Amy-Schwartz Appreciation one Sunday here at the blog. I’ve said even before that here at 7-Imp that I love the seeming simplicity of both her writing and illustrations, but there’s really a lot going on, including an undeniably strong child-centeredness that, in my experience, makes her books bonafide Kid Magnets. Amy can perfectly capture the details of a child’s world, what they truly care to pay attention to. The book best exemplifying this would be the wonderful What James Likes Best from 2003, which Amy discusses below, though it’s really hard to pick that “best.” So many of her titles perfectly capture the details to which young children attend.

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