Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Here is the interview schedule for today. Enjoy!

• Jennifer Lynn Barnes at Writing & Ruminating;
• Robin Brande at HipWriterMama;
• Susane Colasanti at Bildungsroman;
• D.L. Garfinkle at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy;
• Susan Beth Pfeffer at The YA YA YAs;
• Sean Qualls at A Fuse #8 Production;
• Ben Towle at Chasing Ray.

Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the week. Until tomorrow . . .

{Note: The rest of today’s Summer Blog Blast Tour interview schedule is posted at the bottom of this interview.}

If you haven’t read anything by British author David Almond, here—in the words of reviewers who covered his first novel, Skellig, winner of the Carnegie Medal and Whitbread Children’s Novel of the Year Award as well as a Printz Honor—are some of the themes you’re missing: “the transforming power of caring and love” (Publishers Weekly); “worlds enlarging and the hope of scattering death” (NY Times Book Review); “loneliness, friendship and grace” (ALA; Printz Award Selection Committee); “the fearful, wonderful fragility of life” (author Richard Peck); “essential goodness, faith, truth, and love” (author Karen Cushman); and “miraculous happenings” (The ALAN Review). In their review of Almond’s first novel, School Library Journal best summed up what I think is Almond’s greatest strength as a writer: “The beauty here is that there is no answer and readers will be left to wonder and debate, and make up their own minds.” In their review of Skellig, the New York Times Book Review praised my second favorite thing about Almond’s writing: his subtlety.

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Jules: Eisha, Julie Paschkis is visiting for breakfast this morning! I’m thrilled she’s here, especially since it was a real delight to read her interview responses.

I remember during Blogging for a Cure last year when David Elzey at the one-and-only the excelsior file featured Paschkis’ beautiful 2008 snowflake and did this great, little write-up about her work as an illustrator. I think he summed up the appeal of her art work well when he wrote:

“. . . there is something in her illustrations that draws me to them. It’s a strange magnetism, a quiet attraction not unlike the way a whisper can pull you closer and cause you to pay more attention over the din that surrounds it . . .”

And, in talking about her illustrations for Julie Larios’ Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary (Harcourt, 2006), he described her art work as having “a warm glow from within.” I love that. He nailed it.

And, hey, he also talked about her Boston Globe–Horn Book Award acceptance speech for Yellow Elephant and how she shared a detail of one of her paintings with the audience — in lieu of a long speech. Nice. And you were there, weren’t you?

eisha: I was indeed, and it saddens me to no end that I didn’t know David yet. We could have hung out. But yeah, she did unroll a big poster-size print of a painting she’d done when she’d gotten the news that she’d won the BGHB Honor, and it was just as lovely as you’d expect. He’s right — her work just glows. I adore her use of color — those bright, intricate, swirly figures and flowers really pop against the black backgrounds she often favors. He’s also right in that her images can tell a story all on their own — it’s amazing how much detail she can pour into a single illustration.

Also, I remember she had on some very cool tights. Lacy, I think. Possibly purple.

Jules: Well, let’s get right to it, shall we? I know we’re both so honored she stopped by for a cyber-breakfast. And what is Julie’s breakfast of choice? “I have oolong tea — fragrant and floral. About an hour later, I have a huge bowl of homemade granola with yogurt and whatever fruit is in season. I am addicted to Straus Family Farms plain yogurt. It is so good I wrote them a fan letter.”

While we’re setting the table, let’s get the basics from Julie: Read the rest of this entry �

This is author/illustrator Jim Averbeck. He’s showing us the real life of a Regional Advisor, as he used to serve as the Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for the San Francisco Bay Area. “What do you mean they turned the room we planned on using for critiques into an ADA bathroom!” he’s screaming here. “What do you mean the speaker’s plane is late! What do you mean they didn’t deliver the coffee? ARARR-
RRRghhh!!” (That’s his own, original ARARRRRRghhh there, verbatim. Nice argh, huh?)

Below that picture is a less-stressed-out picture of Jim (“My critique groups friends call this my ‘dappled boycake’ picture,” he told me. “Harassment! It’s tough being a man in a woman’s world. It was taken at a writing retreat I did with them at the house in Sonoma County”). I’d say waaaay less-stressed-out, since he’s all reclining in the sun there, looking like he’s just had a very filling breakfast.

Breakfast? you say? Oh yeah, Jim stopped by for breakfast here at 7-Imp for our illustrator interview series. And here’s the thing: Jim’s an illustrator but not a published one — yet. But, after reading Jim’s debut picture book, In a Blue Room (Harcourt, April 2008)—which was illustrated by Tricia Tusa and is seven kinds of fabulous (reviewed here by Yours Truly)—I visited his site, saw some of his art work, and lined him up for an interview in our illustrator series. (I even tacked on a few extra questions specifically about his career thus far). Seriously, people, have you read In a Blue Room yet? I’ve been runnin’ my mouth about how it’s one of the best picture books I’ve seen this year. Let’s take a moment here and soak in some of its picture-book-goodness: Read the rest of this entry �

You know what’s great? Waking up and finding Frank Dormer in your kitchen. He’s tiptoe-ing around, so as not to disturb you in your pre-caffeinated state. He’s already put the Pop Tarts in the toaster, and has the kettle just about ready to whistle. So thoughtful. So generous. So… GAH!!! DUDE!!! Is that… Is that a frog under my napkin?!?

Very funny, Frank. What are you, like, nine?

But okay, now that we’ve peeled ourselves off the ceiling, we can admit that that’s what we like about him. There’s a sly, youthful quality to his illustrations. There’s a pronounced wit in the way he wields his pen and paintbrush. He’s a little offbeat, a little funky… and he’s swimming in talent.

He is also very generous. Last year, completely out of the blue, he created for us this fabulous beloved original illustration of the tea party scene from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland after our Sunday-kicks illustrator feature. Read the rest of this entry �

Last week on Poetry Friday, you may have seen the unveiling of one mighty creative collaborative poetry project, a sonnet entitled “Cutting the Swath.” It was written by seven women—authors, teachers and/or librarians, poets, bloggers—who each wrote one verse in the sonnet and then put them all together and edited it into what is called a crown sonnet. Those women are Sara Lewis Holmes, Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Liz Garton Scanlon, Tanita S. Davis (TadMack), Andromeda Jazmon (Andi), and Kelly Fineman. As Liz explained it in her post last week, in which the sonnet in its entirety was shared:

A Crown Sonnet is a string of seven interconnected sonnets. Each sonnet after the first one will use the last line from the preceding sonnet as its first line. The final sonnet (#7) uses the last line of sonnet six as its first line AND the first line of the very first sonnet as its last line. The perfect book-end.

As I read this sonnet, I (Jules here) found myself wishing I were only The President of the World and could command the editors of Time Magazine or, I dunno, even Rolling Stone (these women are rock stars, you know, for doing this) or some such major publication to do a cover story on this. ‘Cause . . . . well, WOW. No matter what you think of the final product—the force of nature that is the sonnet itself these women created—the process of collaborating thusly is pretty amazing, and so I thought the least I could do was talk to them about it. 7-Imp may not have the readership Time does, but perhaps some of our readers might be interested in this idea of collaborative writing. Yes, this post rivals the length of a novella (I didn’t want to cut corners on Cutting a Swath), but if you’re interested in the workings behind such a massively creative project, as I am, then this might be just the read for you: Settle down. Get a cup of coffee. And read for a bit.

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Did everybody see What Happens on Wednesdays last year, written by Emily Jenkins (and reviewed here at 7-Imp)? If you didn’t, you’d make your own day by taking a gander. It’s Emily Jenkins we’re talking about, so you can trust it’s well-written (which it is), but what got my attention, in particular, was the work of then-debut illustrator Lauren Castillo. Just take a look at some of the glowing things said about her illustration in this first book of hers: “Newcomer Castillo’s illustrations evoke Margot Zemach, with thick smudgy lines and a wintertime palette that celebrates the leafless beauty and energy of this intimate patch of Brooklyn” (Kirkus‘ starred review); “{r}adiant mixed-media art by a debut illustrator captures the warmth and candor in Jenkins’s . . . sparkling slice-of-life tale” (Publishers Weekly’s starred review); “Castillo’s slightly impressionistic mixed-media illustrations give viewers a real feel for the youngster’s Brooklyn neighborhood” (School Library Journal); and “{i}n an extremely promising debut, Castillo envelops the young narrator in warm tones . . . and renders figures and settings in a naive style while picking out rich elements . . . in a manner consistent with a child’s intense but often selective memory for details” (Booklist’s starred review).

Being compared to Margot Zemach with your first illustrated title? Nothing to sneeze at, I say.

I decided to invite Lauren over for a cyber-breakfast in 7-Imp’s new illustrator-interview series, launched a couple weeks ago, to find out what she’s done since the wonderful What Happens on Wednesdays, what books are forthcoming, and generally how she works her magic. Lauren’s breakfast of choice is a large cup of coffee with cream and sugar. And a toasted whole wheat English muffin with raspberry jam and a side of scrambled eggs. Mmmm. She drinks her coffee just the way I like it, so I’m going to have a cup with her. Hey, wait, I love English muffins, too. She’s a good breakfast companion — as well as a talented illustrator. Let’s get the low-down on Lauren and then ask her seven questions over breakfast, shall we? Read the rest of this entry �

Here’s a suggestion for our readers out there, should they actually not already be reading a wrunge sponge, the blog of Andromeda “Andi” Jazmon (her pen name), or cloudscome (her blogger name): If you need a quiet moment of unassailable beauty in your hectic day, then you can find one over there, on any given day, at cloudscome’s blog. Most striking are her original haiku posts and her often-breathtaking photographs of moments-in-time, courtesy of Mother Nature.

However, at a wrung sponge, you’ll also get some experimental original poetry (in addition to her beloved haiku); some detailed thoughts on favorite books; suggested reading lists, most often on so-called multicultural titles, and library-trip reports; warm and inviting posts about her faith and adoption; and much more (including her participation in the Pay It Forward Book Exchange). Her blog’s template states, “I’m a librarian posting about multiculti kids’ books, poetry, knitting, my garden and gluten-free cooking,” but many of her posts, particularly her haiku posts, transcend the mundane and take you — if you give yourself a moment to go — to a place where you can see the extraordinary in the ordinary. For serious, it’s like this lovely gift to yourself to stop by a wrung sponge and see what Andi has noticed — and, likely, written about or snapped a photograph of — in her day (or — as William Carlos Williams put it once, which she quoted in a post — she “write{s} what is in front of {her} nose”). Here are but two examples of some of her photography, which she regularly shares at a wrung sponge:

Ah. Nice. We’ll let those photographs speak for themselves. Moving on . . .

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I’m unveiling today a new interview-series idea here at 7-Imp. Eisha and I love doing interviews, but they take a lot of time. And I mean a lot, especially considering that — in my case and I’m sure for Eisha’s, too — I only have little windows of time in which to read and blog (translated: after my children are asleep). And we’re not going to give up our usual interview format, I promise. But this series idea I have had a-churnin’ in my brain is to interview illustrators — but with a format which will make it a little more efficient in terms of time. And that means I / we will be able to do more interviews altogether — whether our traditional ones or illustrator interviews via this new format. And that is a good thing, I think.

Why illustrators? It’s no surprise that I love my picture books. If I had one little shred of talent-with-art-supplies whatsoever — or if a genie popped out of a magic bottle — I’d opt to be an illustrator in this life. Neither thing is likely to happen, so I’ll settle for grilling some of my favorites and appreciating their work and their talents.

Jeremy Tankard bravely agreed to be my guinea pig with this new interview format. I was thrilled to pieces he agreed, since I’m a fan of his work, as I’ve made clear several times at 7-Imp, and I’ve been wanting to interview him for a while. So, let’s get right to it then. And I’ll gladly accept any feedback on this new format, should any one want to pipe up.

So, yes, Jeremy’s joining me for breakfast, and his morning meal of choice is granola over fresh homemade apple sauce with a glass of water and hot ginger tea. Mmmm. Of course, I have to throw in some coffee, too (and if it’s going to be the cup pictured here, oh heavens, someone add some cream and sugar!) But, first let’s set the table with some introductory information from Jeremy (you didn’t really think I’d be able to stick to just seven questions, did you?) Remember: This is the proposed format for the new seven-questions-over-breakfast illustrator-interview series (yeah, it’s altogether way more than seven questions, but just humor me here and indulge my love of Q & As.)

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Check it out, ya’ll: we’ve got Sara Zarr in da house. That’s right, National Book Award finalist, Cybils nominee, generally kick-ass writer for young adults, Sara Zarr.

She first hit the scene with Story of a Girl, which won rave reviews and landed her in the NBA nominee camp for its gritty, funny, touching, and – yeah, why not? – inspiring depiction of a girl who makes a really bad decision and has to figure out how to live with the ugly consequences. But unlike a lot of teen novels, in this case the consequences of having sex at 13 with the wrong boy aren’t tangible (pregnancy, STD) – instead, Deanna has to deal with becoming a legendary “slut” in her small town, falling from her father’s favor, and wondering if she’ll ever be asked on a normal date by a nice boy. As School Library Journal said in a starred review, “This is realistic fiction at its best. Zarr’s storytelling is excellent; Deanna’s reactions to the painful things said to her will resonate with any reader who has felt like an outsider.”

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