Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Several weeks ago, I blogged about a few new picture book biographies that made me happy. I was eager then to tell you about the title I’m featuring today, but I wanted to wait a bit to secure some spreads from it to share with you. This is, hands down, one of my favorite picture books from this year, and it seems to have come out of nowhere and surprised me. It’s called The Secret World of Walter Anderson (Candlewick, September 2009), it’s by an author with whom I was not previously familiar, Hester Bass, and it’s about “the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of,” as Bass puts it. The book was illustrated by the one and only E.B. Lewis, whose work I’ve long adored.

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As many sites around the kidlitosphere today celebrate nonfiction titles (as they do every Monday), I am having a cyber-breakfast with author/illustrator Bonnie Christensen, pictured here, who has brought us a handful of engaging nonfiction titles over the years — either illustrating them or both writing and illustrating them herself. Perhaps best known for Woody Guthrie: Poet of the People (Alfred A. Knopf), for which she was given the Horn Book-Boston Globe Honor Award in 2002, she has illustrated fifteen beautiful books for young readers, her primary media being oils and wood engraving or dry point engravings, though she seems to have no fear and has also attempted such artistic adventures as old-skool fresco. (More on that below.)

You do remember the Woody-Guthrie title (rendered in mixed media) from 2001, right? I do. It blew me away. It was a dramatic and powerful tribute to someone whose music most of us know, whether we realize Woody was behind it or not:

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Good morning, all! I have two kickin’ announcements for my fellow Illustration Junkies of the world:

1. Matt Phelan is stopping by this morning for a breakfast chat! See the post below. He is sharing lots of beautiful art work to wake you up this morning. As well as strong, non-negotiable coffee.

2. Author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka has this to share this morning:

Mr. Tomie dePaola is turning 75! My wife, Gina, and I wanted to do something special for him, let him know just how much he is loved. We reached out to our children’s book illustrator friends and asked if they would make an image to honor Tomie. On September 15th, on his actual birthday, we are launching Three Kisses for Tomie with the first round of art. Many artists have promised art later in the year, and we will continue to update the site throughout the year, as we get new art in. Here is a sneak preview of what you will see:

This is seven kinds of fabulous is what it is. You can see even more over at Three Kisses for Tomie: An All-Star Tribue to Tomie dePaola, launched today. Enjoy!

And: Happy birthday, Tomie!

{Illustrations used with permission of Jarrett J. Krosoczka.}

Last year, I started this seven-questions-over-breakfast author/illustrator interview series, all because there were a handful of new illustrators, in particular, with whom I really wanted to chat, whose careers I was following with interest, and whose art I was hankerin’ to showcase. Matt Phelan was one of those folks. And it’s taken me this long to feature him here, but I finally have. I welcome him for a cyber-breakfast; Matt says he’ll take “your classic eggs (style depending on whim), bacon, toast (with home-made jam), and home fries. And strong coffee, please. Of course, I don’t have this every day… except for the coffee. That is non-negotiable.” Why, here’s a coffee-drinker after my own heart. Strong and MUST-HAVE: The two ways I like coffee best. And the rest of his breakfast is nothing to sneeze at either. He might have to come over more often.

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I wish I could take credit for being the photographer of this photo of author Liz Garton Scanlon and author/illustrator Marla Frazee, because then that would mean I’d been in Malibu, where this picture was taken in November of last year. Alas, it was not I.

But I am here this morning, sharing a cyber-breakfast and conducting a joint Q&A with these talented ladies. And there are three reasons why. (Not seven reasons, for once, but I’m sure I can come up with four more. Quite easily.)

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Once upon a time, in reviewing author/illustrator Chris Raschka’s 2001 picture book title, Waffle, Publishers Weekly wrote that Raschka “captures the essence of a mood with the merest hint of text and the briefest of brush strokes.” This is one reason I’m such a fan of his work: His minimalist approach, that ability to say so much with one wild, graceful squiggle here and one loose dab of line there and unbridled, vigorous sweeps of color all over, all which add up to Raschka’s inimitable quirky style. “Quirky,” to be sure, gets over-used in the world of children’s lit and risks making the artist sound too precious, but Raschka’s quirky is far from precious or darling. His impressionistic style is unfettered (without overpowering the text, mind you) and leaps off the page with an infectious energy, affection, humor, and—most importantly—what comes across as a keen respect for the child reader.

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This is Ruby Bridges, who was only six years old—during the American Civil Rights struggle of the early 1960s—when she became the first African American child to attend an all-white school in the South. For this, she had to live with threats to her life on a daily basis and face teachers unwilling to instruct her. She is captured for all eternity in Norman Rockwell’s famous painting; he depicted her on her first day of school, surrounded by U.S. marshals as a result of the court-ordered desegregation of public schools in New Orleans. Going to kindergarten with the federal law enforcement agency at your side: This was her reality.

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When I asked author and “silly chick” Andrea Beaty what she thought about the work of Belgian illustrator Pascal Lemaitre, who has illustrated three of her titles thus far, and she said that he “is so funny and original and his art is brilliant,” I found myself nodding along. “The thing that constantly amazes me,” Andrea added, “is how simple his illustrations seem, but they have so much going on. Even after reading one of our books over and over, I find new details that crack me up!”

I love Pascal’s work. There is an understatement to it that charms and a seeming simplicity. But, as Andrea said, there’s much to take in. Best of all, as you can see from some of the illustrations on display in this interview, Lemaitre knows how to embrace the softer elements of childhood, yet isn’t afraid to embrace his Inner Grimm — and if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I’m a fan of those authors and illustrators who do so, seeing as how it really is good for children to face these kinds of fears. See what I mean? This is from Ogre noir by Édith et Rascal, published in France in 2006. Yikes:

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This is one of many beautiful photographs taken by award-winning author and photographer Jan Reynolds, pictured below. Jan’s work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, The New York Times, and Outside magazine.

But she’s also the author of many nonfiction books for children, including the Vanishing Cultures series, photo-essays for children about cultural diversity. The books in the series have been recognized as Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People and selected for the Kids’ Pick of the List by the American Bookseller’s Association. Jan is also a skier, mountain climber, and all-around fearless adventurer. She holds the world record for women’s high-altitude skiing, was part of the first expedition to circumnavigate Mount Everest, and performed a solo crossing of the Himalaya. And that’s just scratching the surface of her world adventures.

Here are but a couple more of her beautiful photographs from an ’06 title: Read the rest of this entry �

The illustrator of one of my favorite picture books ever, the 1997 Caldecott Honor winner Hush!: A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho, is here this morning for a breakfast chat. Woodblock artist Holly Meade has illustrated almost thirty picture book titles in her career, launched in 1992, including what I thought was one of 2008’s most outstanding picture books, David Elliott’s On the Farm, published by Candlewick. (My ’08 review is here).

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