Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“I was a dancer just like you / a dreaming shooting star of a girl /
with work and worlds ahead”
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Since I chatted here last week with Misty Copeland and Christopher Myers about Firebird, their new picture book from Putnam, I thought I’d follow up today with some of Chris’ art from the book.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

“I was the only one light enough to walk on top of the snow.”
— Spread (without text) from Blizzard
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“Zeus got angry and decided to destroy the entire race. I mean, Come on.
How bad could the humans have been?”
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Pictured right is author-illustrator John Rocco in 1971. With him is his sister, Denise, and their dog, Toby-Tyler. This photo is the inspiration for John’s newest picture book, Blizzard (Disney-Hyperion), which will be released at the end of October. Blizzard tells the true story of John’s winter of 1978, when New England, as he explains in a closing author’s note, was slammed with one of the biggest snowstorms in its history. At first, it was all a bit thrilling and fun—we’re talkin’ school lets out early, snowdrifts cover doors, and tunnels and secret rooms are dug under piles of snow—and much hot cocoa (with milk!) was consumed. Then, things started to get a bit scary, but the young boy in the tale (John himself) heads out bravely to gather groceries for his family, as well as his neighbors, since as you can see above, he was “the only one light enough to walk on top of the snow.” It’s an adventure tale with cheer and heart, and at its core it’s a story about the resiliency and bravery of children.

Today, John is sharing some early drawings from the book, as well as some final art and a couple of other surprises. To boot, he’s throwing in four of his paintings from Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, released by Disney-Hyperion in August.

Enjoy the art … Read the rest of this entry �

“Melba and her music trotted around the globe, dazzling audiences and making headlines in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. All her life, Melba kept composing and arranging music, kept making her trombone sing. Spread the word!
Melba Doretta Liston was something special.”
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“Ojiichan played every morning. From his study, the clear, bright notes would drift upstairs, through the shoji screen doors to where Hana slept on sweet-smelling tatami mats, and coax her awake as gently as sunshine.”
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Today over at Kirkus, I write about an utterly charming picture book import from the UK, The Storm Whale by Benji Davies. That is here.

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Since last week I wrote here about Chieri Uegaki’s Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin (Kids Can Press, August 2014), illustrated by Qin Leng, and Little Melba and Her Big Trombone (Lee & Low, April 2014), written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winner Frank Morrison, I’m following up with some art from each book today.

Enjoy. … Read the rest of this entry �

“Ballet is so rigorous and formally precise. I spent a lot of time watching videos of ballet and going to see Misty dance specifically, because as precise as ballet is, the specificity of her art was most important to me. I wanted not just to capture the excitement of ballet, but the thrill of watching Misty perform those precision moves, the artistry that she brings to it.”

 

Today over at Kirkus, I talk with Misty Copeland and Christopher Myers (pictured above), the creators of Firebird, a picture book released by Putnam this month. That’s Chris quoted above, who is talking about Misty’s work as the second African American soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theatre.

That link is here, and next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll have some artwork from the book.

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Photos used with permission. Photo of Misty taken by Gregg Delman.

“‘Listen! The sea has so many voices,’ Anna whispers. ‘It sounds like a heavenly choir humming. A song about crabs, eels, and sea urchins cooing in the deep.'”
— From Anna’s Heaven
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This month, I reviewed Stian Hole’s Anna’s Heaven, released by Eerdman’s in September, for BookPage. That review is here.

You all know I like to follow up reviews with art from the books I write about, if possible, but for this one I also decided to chat with the award-winning illustrator himself (pictured here) about this book, what’s next for him, how picture books differ in the U.S. and overseas, and more. In fact, he poses a question to readers below (regarding U.S. publishing), if anyone is so inclined to weigh in.

The chat today includes art from Anna’s Heaven, as well as a couple of older picture book titles of Stian’s, published here in the States. Stian also shares images from a forthcoming book, which will also be published here.

Let’s get right to it, and I thank him for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

Hello, dear kickers. Today I have some artwork from author-illustrator David Biedrzycki, whose has a brand-new picture book out from Charlesbridge, Breaking News: Bear Alert (Charlesbridge, September 2014). It’s the story—in the style of a breaking-news, this-just-in television report—of two very curious bears who make their way into a busy town. It’s a fun story, and David has a handful of spreads from it to share today, as well as a few early sketches. The Kirkus review for this one notes that David’s Adobe Photoshop illustrations are “bold and playful, appropriately reminiscent of vintage Hanna-Barbera and a good match for the slapstick story,” while the Publishers Weekly review adds that David’s book “comically exploits our cultures of distraction and surveillance.” (They make an excellent point.)

The cover’s so entertaining that I’m opening this post with it, though I normally open with artwork (well, non-cover artwork).

While David’s here, he’s also sharing some other artwork, so let’s get right to it, shall we? To read more about the books from which these images come and more about David and his work, you can visit his site here.

Read the rest of this entry �

Today at Kirkus, I write about two picture books, Chieri Uegaki’s Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin, illustrated by Qin Leng, and Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winner Frank Morrison. That link is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about two wonderful new books for budding, young photographers, Susan Goldman Rubin’s Stand There! She Shouted: The Invincible Photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, and Ruth Thomson’s Photos Framed: A Fresh Look at the World’s Most Memorable Photographs. I’ve got a bit of art from Ibatoulline today.

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I always look forward to the first Sunday of every month here at 7-Imp, since that’s when I feature student or recently graduated illustrators, and today is no exception. I’m happy to introduce you to Esmé Shapiro, a recent grad. Let’s just get right to it, since she says a bit below and shares even more artwork.

I thank her for visiting.

(Please note that all of the images below are at Esmé’s site, as well as her Tumblr presence, and you can also read further at those cyberspace stops about the ideas behind the images. For instance, the above is an illustration for a story she wrote, called “Carmella Chameleon.”)

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Have you noticed a particular blog tour goin’ on this week? Author-illustrator Ben Hatke (I wrote here about and then followed up with art here from his newest picture book, Julia’s House for Lost Creatures) is makin’ the rounds and talking about his bestiary of lost creatures. This is the kind of art-filled blog tour I can get behind. If you want to see all his creatures from this week, they’re listed at this link.

Today, I’m hosting the mermaid.

Here’s Ben … Read the rest of this entry �

Early sketch and final spread
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Just the other day author-illustrator Aaron Becker visited to talk about his new picture book (Quest), which is a follow-up to one that won a Caldecott Honor early this year (Journey).

So then it occurred to me (I swear I don’t plan these things, as in I’m not that organized) that I’d love to invite author-illustrator Molly Idle to do the same. Molly also received a Caldecott Honor early this year for Flora and the Flamingo, and she sees the release at the end of this month of a follow-up picture book about the same character (Flora, that is), Flora and the Penguin (Chronicle Books).

And I had this idea just yesterday, I think it was, so I’m glad Molly was able to roll with this and send me images and interview responses so quickly. I figured I’d ask her the same things I asked Aaron (with the exception of questions that pertain specifically to their books, of course).

Flora and the Penguin is (like Aaron’s book) another wordless tale. This one is entertaining, too — the charm and cheer and grace that was on every page of Flora and the Flamingo is here again. This time, Flora is dancing partners with a penguin. At least she tries to skate with him on the ice, though he’s mighty distracted by some fish. And the color palette! O! The palette! You’ll see what I mean in some of the final spreads pictured below.

Let’s get right to it, and I thank Molly for visiting. (For those of you who want even more, remember that Molly visited 7-Imp here in 2013.)

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