Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Eisha and I are taking part in the Winter Blog Blast Tour this week, as organized by Colleen Mondor of Chasing Ray (if you missed the Summer Blog Blast Tour, it’s a multi-blog series of interviews of children’s and YA authors). Here’s the week’s master schedule of interviews, and you can scroll down to the bottom of this interview to see today’s schedule of interview goodness. This week we’ll be chatting with Jon Scieszka, Jack Gantos, and Gabrielle Zevin here at 7-Imp.

Eisha once told me in college that I speak in hyperbole, that — as Adrienne over at WATAT has said about herself before (and it’s quite endearing when she does it) — lots of things are “The Best Thing Ever.” Well, I’d like to think that I don’t do that too severely here at 7-Imp, but I bet I run the risk of looking like I do, since the way most of us bloggers roll in Blogistan is that we cover the books we like and interview the folks whose books we adore (though we do make exceptions to the former here at 7-Imp, such as here and here recently). And that would be because, well . . . no one pays us to do this, and we’re already blogging instead of sleeping. We simply don’t have time to do long, logorrheic posts about books we didn’t even like enough to finish or authors who put us to sleep.

So, will you believe me when I say that I think Phyllis Root (pictured above, doing field research last fall for a book about Minnesota) is a tremendously talented author who wows with me just about every book she writes? And has for a long time? And that she’s a master of the picture book form? ‘Cause she is. She really and truly is one of the Best Things Ever, especially when it comes to the complex and wonderful art form which is the picture book. Read the rest of this entry �

eisha: OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD!!! I cannot believe we are ABOUT TO MEET PUNK FARM IN PERSON!!! Jules, how’s my hair? Do I have anything in my teeth?

Jules: You’re fine. I am, like, shaking, though, I’m so flippin’ nervous! God, what if I throw up? What if I throw up ON THE BAND???

eisha: You will not throw up. You can’t throw up, because then they’ll leave, and we won’t score this interview, and this interview is the coolest thing we’ve ever done on our little blog. Honestly, how many people can say they’ve interviewed a fictional farm animal band? With a TOTALLY HOT BASS PLAYER? This is my chance to… I mean, this could totally make our careers. Or whatever.

Dude, is this even happening? Maybe I’m dreaming it. Hey, pinch me?

Jules: . . .

eisha: OW!!! I didn’t say draw blood… Whoa, do you hear that? Geez, ever heard of a muffler, people?

Jules: (looking out the window) That’s their van! They’re here!! THEY’RE HERE!!!

Jules & eisha: (jumping up and down in that annoying fangirl way) SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jules: Okayokayokay… be cool… breathe…

eisha: Here they come… Okay, we can handle this… We’re professionals… whew…

Okay.

You ready?

Jules: Oh yeah.

Let’s rock this interview.

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Hello, all, and thanks for joining us. We are privileged to be featuring an interview with Sheila Ruth, the Very Busy Blogger behind Wands and Worlds. She’s also the Organizer of the Fantasy/Science Fiction category and Henchwoman for Independent Publishing for the 2007 Cybil Awards.

If you’re new to Wands and Worlds, then know this: it is THE blog to read if you are a science fiction and/or fantasy fan. Seriously. The woman reads a lo-o-o-o-ot of YA and middle grade sci-fi and fantasy books, and she writes the kind of reviews that really tantalize the potential reader, while giving insightful and detailed commentary. Check out this review of The Sight by David Clement-Davies for an example. When asked about the blog’s title, Sheila told us:

I wanted a name that would convey both fantasy and science fiction, and I think “Wands and Worlds” does that, with wands representing fantasy and worlds representing science fiction. Plus, I like the alliteration. The name really just came to me fully-formed when I first proposed the idea of the site to my son.

There’s more: Wands and Worlds also has a Book News blog, a huge, searchable Directory of fantasy and science fiction books for children and teens, and a Fansite with various forums for sci-fi/fantasy readers.

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{Note: Please see the post below for today’s Robert’s Snow schedule!}

Hey, all. We’re kicking it old-skool here at 7-Imp by posting a straight-up blogger interview, something we haven’t done in almost a month. We’re extra-pleased that our comeback interview features Jackie Parker of Interactive Reader. In keeping with the nostalgia theme, here’s…

1* Her book reviews. You can count on her for pithy, outspoken commentary on mostly-YA-but-occasionally-adult novels, like this one about Jack Gantos’s novel The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (that almost makes Eisha want to read it even though the premise is so very very wrong).

2* She’s funny. Wicked funny. We tried to find specific examples from her blog that were extra-hilarious, but it’s too hard to choose. Seriously, she’s always funny. So just read anything at random. Go on, we’ll wait…

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Back in May of this year, I decided that — instead of simply listing our seven kicks each week here at 7-Imp, a little tradition we began in March — we could feature an illustrator each Sunday as well (our 7-Imp art gallery, if you will, featuring the illustrators who have graced our site each Sunday thus far, is here). In mid-August, one of those illustrators who agreed to send us some art work was none other than author/illustrator G. Brian Karas, whose work we here at 7-Imp have adored over many years. To boot, he sent us a spread from Today and Today, an anthology of haiku by Kobayashi Issa, which Karas illustrated. It was released this March by Scholastic and reviewed here by Yours Truly (and the spread he sent was one I had specifically requested, as it is my favorite from the book, so . . . well, as a Southerner, I suppose I’m required to say bless his heart. Really, I was so grateful. You can see the spread below in the interview. It’s gorgeous).

If you haven’t experienced Today and Today yet, go treat yourself. Karas selected twenty-two of his favorite Issa poems to tell the story of a year in the life of a family — a year in which they will experience the loss of their beloved grandfather but also the renewal that comes from healing after loss. Dividing the entries into seasons, it’s a comforting and poignant look at life’s many cycles — and the little miracles in our day-to-day lives. Booklist wrote in their starred review, “Karas uses the haiku of the eighteenth-century Japanese poet Issa to limn a gentle, understated tale of one family over a year. The translations, from several different but fairly recent sources, do not always hew to the traditional syllabic format of haiku, but they are simply and clearly crafted . . . In a note, Karas explains that like Issa’s haiku, he tries to ‘convey the precise feeling of each moment.’ He succeeds beautifully.”

So, after we featured his art work in mid-August at that kicks list, I was itchin’ to ask for an interview; I simply could not sign off without asking if he would be interested. I was a little bit intimidated, ’cause it’s G. Brian Karas. Extremely talented. Very prolific. Did I mention we’re fans? I’m very happy and relieved that he agreed to the interview. Read the rest of this entry �

We’re happy to have a cyber-visit today from author and blogger Elizabeth Garton Scanlon, who pens with her cyber-ink the most thoughtful and insightful posts over at her LiveJournal, Liz In Ink (“Technology makes me nervous so I thought if I used ‘ink’ in the title I could fool myself into thinking this was plain ol’ fashioned journal writing. Nothin’ to it. Ha,” she told us about the blog’s title).

It is really difficult to pick out the best posts over at Liz In Ink, because we fear we’ll leave too many out. Liz’s posts are consistently good, and when you take the time to visit, it feels like you have just stopped to have a brief visit with a friend over tea or coffee (or perhaps one impossible breakfast), slowing down to take a breath, notice the things around you, and ponder the world and its beauties. Does that sound like a bit much? Well, if so, so be it. But it’s true. Her posts will do that to you. And, speaking of noticing the things around you, this is probably one of her best posts ever, which nicely sums up the type of reflection she delivers (and which also touches upon a school visit, something she really enjoys and tends to blog about and which you can read about here at her site).

When we asked her about her blog’s features, she said, “I’m a Johnny-come-lately and haven’t ushered in a thing, except for boatloads of admiration for all the smart folk out here writing, reviewing and generally being creative inspirations. I don’t have any regular features, but I have an occasional post on Books I Wish I’d Written {Ed. Note: here’s a recent example, as well as this one}. And I try to participate in Poetry Fridays most every Friday. I really love poetry. But really, I think most of my posts are just slices of life.” But that’s just what we love about her writing over at Liz In Ink: It might seem on the surface as if she’s writing about climbing mountains, but it’s also a larger musing on one’s passions; she can write about how what she learns in yoga can resonate with her work as a teacher of writing — and make it interesting, whether you do either one of those things yourself; she writes about parenting with candor and humor and perception; and, lucky for us all, she knows that poetry is better off when we don’t always just assign it to Fridays only. And it’s at Liz’s dinner table where some imaginative conversation can lead to a post about literary utensils. Read the rest of this entry �

We have a rare and wondrous event here on 7-Imp: an interview with a blogger that one of us has actually met in person! Eisha got to talk to Vivian Lee Mahoney, a.k.a. HipWriterMama, very briefly at Grace Lin’s birthday party back in May. It was a fleeting encounter, but she was every bit as gracious and funny and, well, hip as you’d expect her to be from her fabulous blog.

If you read HipWriterMama, you already know that it’s jam-packed with thoughtful commentary on writing, reading, and raising her three girls. But if you haven’t put it on your regular roster of blogs, then we’ll let Vivian tell you about HipWriterMama’s excellent original features:

Inspiration Monday
“I started this feature because of a rejection letter. I finally realized I should be grateful for this letter—while it was a rejection, it was a personalized letter from and editor. After some thought, I decided to write posts to inspire myself and anyone else who happened to stumble across my blog to keep on moving toward those goals.”

Cool Books for Boys
“I started Cool Books for Boys for research purposes. Selfish, isn’t it? I wanted to get a better idea of what would be considered a “successful” boy protagonist and what boys like to read. And I figured other people who be interested in this too.”

Great Books for Girls
“Since I have all girls, I wanted to find strong girl role models in children’s literature for those times when they really aren’t going to want to tell me everything. (See this post.)”

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* (This seems to be Kelly’s favorite exclamation) . . .

Whew, it’s been a while since we’ve posted a blogger interview, but there are still a veritable slew of bloggers left with whom we want to chat it up. This week it’s Kelly Fineman of the LiveJournal, Writing and Ruminating. Kelly’s posts are always a) fun and b) informative to read, two of our favorite things about our favorite bloggers, if you haven’t already noticed. But the best thing about Kelly can be summed up well in a comment she made to us when she sent in her interview responses: When pointing out her rather bold yet candid answers to such questions as “what is your favorite word?” and “what is your least favorite word?”, she told us, “I tried very hard to be truthful instead of clever.” Yup, that’s what we like about her — and that’s what you can expect over at her blog.

Over at Writing and Ruminating — “I figured that what I’d be using the blog for is to talk about writing (and life as a writer), and to share my thoughts. Hence, ‘Writing and Ruminating: One Children’s Writer’s Journey'” — Kelly is, for one thing, always dependable for a good Poetry Friday entry. She’s a poet, in case you didn’t know it (read two of her original poems here and here), so of course she’s all SQUEE!-y over those Poetry Friday entries. In fact, want to read a funny story? Here’s what she said about Poetry Friday:

I thought I {had} invented {it} back in April 2006 after I did a month’s worth of poetry posts, only to find out that Kelly H. was there before me -– talk about Zeitgeist (here’s my post). I even called it Poetry Friday, only to find out much later that others were doing the same thing. Funny, right? . . .

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Quick: Who is eight-and-a-half feet of a word-wrangler and picture-painter with a mighty oak for a paint brush and rattlesnake venom and moonshine for paint? It’s this buckaroo, Adam Rex, whose books (and web site and blog) we love and . . . hey, wait. How can we get some of that moonshine paint?

Really, Adam Rex’s book are like. no. other’s. We think he’s making some of the most dynamic, entertaining, sometimes terrifically bizarre, sometimes really poignant, sometimes wickedly funny, and always exquisitely-illustrated books for children today, so we’re very happy he stopped by for one impossible interview (or, uh, one sandwich with Frankenstein) before breakfast — or to put it in a lingo that perhaps the Old West maverick-version of Adam Rex would understand, we think he’s the whole kit and caboodle, and that is not a bluff, compadre. Simon pure.

Adam is an illustrator but has also penned and illustrated several books of his own. He has stated in previous interviews that it wasn’t easy to break into the world of children’s lit publishing. Having done the illustrations for the cards used in fantasy role-playing games (here’s a handy-dandy list, if that kind of thing turns your crank), such as Magic: The Gathering, it was difficult to convince folks in the realm of children’s lit to take a chance on him (“I found that my fantasy-game samples—which are geared more toward teens—just scared them. The phrase ‘Like this, but cuter and with fewer axes’ doesn’t cut a lot of ice with picture-book editors,” he said in this interview at Harcourt). But, well, we’re glad someone finally did give him a shot, because he has brought us some pretty — and some pretty amazing — books.

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We here at 7-Imp felt like it was some sort of small crime that we hadn’t yet interviewed Mo Willems, because he is one of our favorite author/illustrators and has been since he started creating books. We are grateful that he stopped by to rectify this matter (especially during 7-Imp’s random declaration of Picture Book Week), even though we’re sure he has the busiest of schedules right now.

If you are a devoted reader of our blog, that means you probably really care about and keep up with children’s literature. And if that’s the case, that means you’ve likely heard of Mo. Chances are, you (and your children and/or your students) already know and love Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, his picture book debut in 2003, for which he was awarded a 2004 Caldecott Honor, and the series of Pigeon books that followed, including The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog! (2004) and Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (2006), all published by Hyperion. Child readers can easily identify with the persistent Pigeon and what this Caldecott blurb from ALA amusingly calls the “emotional blackmail” he puts to use in order to get what he wants, while — at the same time — as a School Library Journal review of Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! put it, “{y}oungsters are thrust into the role of caregiver as the puerile pigeon attempts to talk his way out of the inevitable, coming up with requests that range from manipulative . . . to cajoling . . . to classic.” Ask any children’s librarian anywhere, and they’ll likely say: Just how exactly did we get by at story times before these wonderful read-alouds which invite audience participation from the children, giving them a chance to turn the tables and yell “NO!” repeatedly and enthusiastically?

And then in 2005, Mo was awarded a second Caldecott Honor for Knuffle Bunny (Hyperion), “a hilarious epic drama of miscommunication” (ALA blurb again — who writes those great things?) and what he calls at his site a “semi-autobiographical story” about a toddler named Trixie who joins her daddy on a laundromat errand in their Brooklyn neighborhood, only to leave her beloved stuffed bunny in the washing machine. And, well, we feel silly even describing it to you, ’cause if you love children’s lit, you’ve likely read this book (unless you’ve been living in a laundry machine) with its sepia-toned photographs upon which are superimposed cartoon drawings of people. Booklist called it a “comic gem” to which a lot of children and their parents all over this country responded: Word. (Knuffle Bunny was also made into a Carnegie Medal-winning animated short, featuring the voices of the entire Willems’ gang and some pretty kickin’ jazz by Robert Reynolds and Scotty Huff). Read the rest of this entry �