Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Just have to take a moment to post Lauren Castillo’s holiday art (which she gave me permission to do):

 

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Happy merry to all!

(Click image to see spread in its entirety)

 
The year is nearly over, and I want to be sure to highlight a beautiful nonfiction picture book from UK illustrator Anna Wright, called A Tower of Giraffes: Animals in Groups (Charlesbridge, September 2015). This book, as the sub-title tells you, explores the collective nouns for groups of animals — towers of giraffes, flamboyances of flamingos, parcels of penguins, parliaments of owls. Wright’s writing is accessible and spirited, but it’s the art that really stands out.

Wright—who studied at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland and who has a particular fondness (per her author bio) for fabrics and wallpaper—uses feathers and fabrics to bring her ink and watercolor animal drawings to life. Each spread includes a small handful of each animal, some looking right at the reader. The fabrics are all textured and appealing — you want to reach out and touch these spreads. The Kirkus review calls the art “spectacular.”

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“She hears faint voices coming from outside. Peeking through the curtains,
she sees a car in front of her house. …”

 
Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got the Grimm Brothers on the mind. That is here today.

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Last week I wrote here about an import and my favorite holiday picture book this year, India Desjardins’ Marguerite’s Christmas, illustrated by Pascal Blanchet (Enchanted Lion, November 2015). I’m following up today with some beautiful spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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When you find the news—both world and local—discouraging and you feel a lot like the characters look in the above illustration from Marsha Diane Arnold’s Lost. Found., illustrated by Matthew Cordell and released last month (don’t worry — things turn around for these guys), I turn to art. Because we all need art every day.

More specifically, I turned to Matt, who I think is one of this field’s best illustrators. (And Special Delivery, illustrated by Matt and written by Phil Stead, is one of my top-five favorite picture books from this year.) He and I had a relaxed conversation—I say relaxed, since we may or may not briefly veer off into discussions about movies and music—as I wanted to hear a bit more about Lost. Found., and I wanted to see what was on his drawing table. (Wait till you see the wolves below.)

Let’s get right to it.

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“The snow had stopped. The sky was blue-black, and the stars looked close enough to pluck right out and put into your pocket if you wanted to,
but José decided to leave them just where they were.”
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This morning at 7-Imp, I’ve got some spreads from Sonia Manzano’s (otherwise known as MARIA FROM SESAME STREET!) Miracle on 133rd Street (Atheneum, September 2015), illustrated by Marjorie Priceman.

You can tell right away, after seeing the exuberant endpapers, that you’re in for a joyous treat with this one, the story of holiday cheer turning from sour to sweet. It’s Christmas Eve, and José has a frown on his face. The tree he’s trying to decorate is “practically a twig,” and his mother is unhappy that the oven is too small for her roast. “We never should have left Puerto Rico,” she tells her husband and son. “There we could have roasted it outside. Everything is too small here.”

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This morning at Kirkus, I write about my favorite of the 2015 holiday picture book titles I’ve seen.

That link is here. I’ll have art from the book here at 7-Imp next week.

Until Sunday …

“I was afraid of making this book. It was perfect in my mind. I did not want to try and ruin it. But the idea was burning in me. … Living with a book in my mind that long was painful. It was like dragging a heavy suitcase wherever you go.”

 

Today over at Kirkus, I talk to Özge Samanci, pictured here, about her debut book, the graphic memoir Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey.

That Q&A is here today, and next week here at 7-Imp I’ll follow up with some art from Özge’s book.

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Photo of Özge Samanci taken by Shirley Adams and used by permission.

Work-in-progress piece (as of April 2015)

 
Today, I’m showcasing some artwork from illustrator Cannaday Chapman. Shadra Strickland shared Cannaday’s site via social media, and I went and saw and liked. Cannaday then gave me permission to pull images from his site and share them here at 7-Imp.

As you can read here, Cannaday studied Illustration at SVA. His work hasn’t appeared in the world of children’s or YA lit, as far as I can tell (but can’t you see him doing something like YA covers)?

Enjoy.

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means a student or debut illustrator visits. Today, it’s artist and illustrator Kerry Dwyer, who studied at RISD and has a “newly minted website in children’s book illustration after years in a career in television animation and gaming.” Kerry shares some more artwork below and tells us all a bit more about herself.

Without further ado . . .

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“It’s not always easy being a tough guy …”
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Over at Kirkus this morning, I write about Politics & Prose’s Third Annual Picture Book Panel, which I moderated in early November, with Jason Chin, Jacqueline Woodson, Christopher Myers, John Parra, and Chris Soentpiet. The bookstore has posted a video link to the discussion, which is included in my write-up. I also include a link to the discussions, moderated by Leonard Marcus, from the last two years — for those of you who are really eager to hear picture book conversations.

All this is here at Kirkus today.

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I’ve got art today here at 7-Imp from Keith Negley’s Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too), published by Flying Eye Books in October, as a follow-up to my Q&A with Negley last week.

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