Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Author/illustrator Susan Gal, who began her career in illustration by doing poster and calendar art, followed by work as an animator, is relatively new to creating picture books, and I’m glad she decided to do so. Since her picture book debut in 2009, I’ve followed her titles with interest. As I once wrote here at 7-Imp (and as the Kirkus review noted for her debut title), there is a warmth, not to mention an Ezra Jack Keats vibe, to her artwork. A Keats vibe, yes, but Susan still has a style all her own — as you’ll see in the artwork featured here in the interview today.

Susan’s newest picture book, Day by Day, released by Knopf in July, is a joyous celebration of family and community, which has been met with good reviews all-around. As you can see in the sketch and final spread below, her work can be textured and colorful, though in more than one of her picture books thus far, we see how expert she is at conveying night-time spreads with clarity, warmth, and beauty.

Let’s just get right to the interview, since she shares so much artwork today, not to mention we’re having a “fresh-pressed mug of Noble’s Ethiopian ‘Worka’ blend coffee with steamed milk and steel-cut oatmeal with seasonal fresh fruit, topped with toasted almonds.” Mmm. I’m ready to eat and see lots of art.

I thank Susan for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

Last week at Kirkus, I talked about the Fall 2012 picture book titles I’ve seen in advance (and that I really like) and which will be released soon. (Here’s the link.) Today, I’ve got a lot of art to showcase, at least one spread from each of the books I mentioned in that column.

A few quick notes: If you like what you see here from Christian Robinson, I’ll have an interview with him relatively soon, not to mention Stephen Savage. I’ll also be showcasing Matthew Cordell’s hello! hello! later, as well as Candace Fleming’s and Eric Rohmann’s Oh, No! And, if you want to see more from Philip and Erin Stead’s Bear Has a Story to Tell, I featured it here at 7-Imp last Sunday.

Finally, I’ll also have a Q & A with Sarah Stewart and David Small within the next month, as well as a post that shows many of David’s early sketches for The Quiet Place.

I think that’s it, though there could be more. There could always be more.

Enjoy the art today … Read the rest of this entry �

Last Thursday at Kirkus, I chatted with Brian McMullen, who created the McMullens children’s book imprint over at McSweeney’s, now in its second year. Brian serves as Art Director and imprint editor and is the namesake for the imprint. That link is here, if you missed it and are interested.

Today, I follow-up, as always, with some art. This time I’ve got some illustrations from a handful of McMullens titles’, both from this year and last.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

If you’re a fan, as I am, of the illustrations of Komako Sakai, the above spread might make you happy. It’s a sneak-peek at her newest illustrated title, which Enchanted Lion Books will release this November, a re-telling of Margery Williams’ Velveteen Rabbit.

Komako is here this morning—with huge thanks to translator Yuki Kaneko (who also translated Yukiko Kato’s In the Meadow, which Sakai illustrated, and The Velveteen Rabbit)—to share with me a cyber-bowl of rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. To the left is her self-portrait.

Here is precisely what I love—with thanks to the New York Times for the words—about Komako’s artwork. For her 2009 title, The Snow Day (Arthur A. Levine Books), David Barringer over at the NYT wrote: “The art in The Snow Day is unpretty and mesmerizing. This world is dark, heavy, unsentimental and thick with…the bittersweet solitude of snow.”

“Unpretty and mesmerizing” might also cover some of Komako’s other titles (though heaven only knows she’s capable of breathtaking beauty as well)—the vibe in her books sometimes communicates such—but rest assured this is a compliment. Flying in the face of the notion that all children’s books should be light or cute (I don’t know about you, but I’ve met the parents who think all children’s lit should be such), Komako lays out her stories with honesty and an emotional resonance, never patronizing to child readers and triumphantly tapping into all shades of their inner lives.

Her artwork is also a force of nature — at times grainy, at times soft and muted, and at times with vivid, vigorous brushstrokes. (For the latter, see the artwork at the bottom of the post for In the Meadow).

Komako lives and works in Japan, and only a handful of her titles have been imported here to the States. It’s with eagerness that I look forward to her version of The Velveteen Rabbit. And I thank her (and, once again, the translator) for doing this short Q&A with me. I also thank the Japanese publisher Fukuinkan, who made this Q&A possible, as well as Enchanted Lion Books for facilitating it all.

Let’s get right to it. Read the rest of this entry �

Yesterday at Kirkus, I rambled incessantly about Fall 2012 picture books for which I’ve already fallen and fallen hard. Since I like to follow Kirkus columns one week later with 7-Imp posts that feature art art and lots of art—if I don’t post lots of art, I start to get twitchy—I started gathering at least one spread from each book to feature here at 7-Imp later this week.

But then when I ended up with more than one spread from the new book Bear Has a Story to Tell (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook), written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, I couldn’t resist the urge to go ahead and post about it today. It will be released relatively soon anyway (early September).

If I gave away the entire story here, I’d not be able to sleep at night for having ruined the reading experience for you. So, I’m going to do something rare and unusual for long-winded me: I’m going to just list a small handful of things about it that I like. I’ll list seven of them (at the risk of looking formulaic here), given the blog’s title. (Why not?) Then, I’ll just let the beautiful art speak for itself. Read the rest of this entry �

This morning at Kirkus, I have a brief conversation with Brian McMullen, who created the McMullens children’s book imprint over at McSweeney’s, now in its second year. Brian serves as Art Director and imprint editor and is, as you may have guessed, the namesake for the imprint. That link is here.

Tomorrow at Kirkus, I’ll have some thoughts on Fall 2012 picture book titles I’m extra-eager to see. Actually, they’re titles I’ve already seen—books for which I got a sneak peek at some F&Gs—and whose releases I anticipate with downright glee. (I had fun writing this. I got crazy-inspired and wrote it a while back, but Kirkus wanted to post it now-ish, closer to Fall release dates.) That link will be here on Friday morning.

Last week, I wrote about the utterly charming Bear in Love (to be released by Candlewick in mid-August), written by Daniel Pinkwater and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. That is here, if you missed it last week and are so inclined to read more about it.

Here’s one more spread from the book. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

Just in case you’d forgotten or it’s never occurred to you, never—and I mean don’t EVER—take the beloved, cuddly stuffed teddy bear away from an actual bear.

Gaëtan Dorémus’ Bear Despair, a wordless international import, shines a light on the dangers of doing so. Originally published in France as Chagrin d’ours during 2010, it will be released here in the U.S. from Enchanted Lion Books in mid-August.

And, my, it’s funny. And, as always, I love seeing what picture book creators in other countries are doing.

Read the rest of this entry �

I have already posted this year (back in March) about Ashley Wolff’s beautiful Baby Bear Sees Blue, pictured above, which was released in February by Beach Lane Books and is a book you’ll see on several folks’ Caldecott prediction lists already.

Ashley, pictured left, is visiting today for what was supposed to be a breakfast interview, but I’ve changed it to afternoon tea, given that I’m posting later in the day. Her breakfast-of-choice had been tea with milk. (Then, after a daily dog walk on the hill, she has coffee around 10:00 a.m., some plain yogurt, almonds, and Kashi Go Lean, all mashed up together.) But I still say this can be our afternoon snack. All of it. Mmm. I’ll just sip some coffee, while she has her tea.

Ashley, as you can see below, has illustrated or both written and illustrated many titles in her career—she’s best-known for her illustrations for Joseph Slate’s Miss Bindergarten titles—and she’s worked in a variety of media. Publishers Weekly once described her illustrations as “sturdy” and “genially observed.” No matter what medium she’s using, her colorful spreads provide many details for little eyes; much like Baby Bear’s world in her latest title, there is much to explore and see in her artwork.

And, speaking of artwork, since she shares quite a bit of it below, let’s get right to it. I thank her for visiting today. Read the rest of this entry �

Tomorrow at Kirkus, I write about the new picture book from Daniel Pinkwater and Will Hillenbrand, Bear in Love, which surprised me. That link will be here in the morning.

Last week, I wrote about Victoria Jamieson’s Olympig! and why it surprised me, too. That link is here.

Today, as always, I follow up with more art, including early sketches from Victoria. Victoria is also here to talk a bit about the book. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

Because I like good picture books about art, I’m going to share two today that have caught my eye lately.

First up is The Magical Life of Mr. Renny, a picture book import from Belgian author/illustrator, Leo Timmers. Originally published in 2010 as Meneer René, we will see the first American edition, thanks to Gecko Press and translator Bill Nagelkerke, this September. Read the rest of this entry �