Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I’ve written about author/illustrator John Hendrix previously at 7-Imp. Today, though, he’s joining me at the breakfast table, his breakfast-of-choice being only “about five gallons of coffee.” (I can go for that. I’m sturdy with my coffee intake. I feel confident I can handle it.)

And I believe I’ve previously used the word “galvanic” when describing his art.

Well, it is. Have you seen his artwork?

His sweeping spreads are indicative of an artist who started out in editorial illustration — with spreads, Kirkus once wrote, that “combine the iconic and the realistic to compress the visual storytelling into one heightened image.” Or “larger-than-life,” if you’re School Library Journal. And it’s true: John knows how to get your attention, as you can see below in the mixed-media illustrations featured today. There’s an edgy, sometimes darker side to his art, too, that makes you look twice. (And, I must mention, he often hand-draws his text, as you can see in some examples below.)

Most recently, John has brought readers the illustrations for Deborah Hopkinson’s A Boy Called Dickens. That was published by Schwartz & Wade in January, and back then I invited John over for a breakfast chat. I may just now be getting to it, but better late than never. He shares art and early sketches below from Hopkinson’s book, as well his other three previously illustrated titles and other art from here and from there.

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

I always look forward to new picture books from Polly Dunbar (who visited 7-Imp back in ’08).

Kirkus calls her newest, Arthur’s Dream Boat, released by Candlewick in February, a “real attention-getter.” In this book, Dunbar asks child readers to consider what is real and what is but a dream.

Arthur awakes one morning to recall an amazing dream. He’s got a sailboat on the mind — in more ways than one. He’s dreamt of one, not to mention there is a tiny sailboat perched on his head. (“A few years ago,” Dunbar notes in the book’s back-flap bio, “I was sitting on Brighton beach, looking out to sea. There was a small boy in the water and a boat far away on the horizon. For one magic moment, the boat looked as though it was perched on the boy’s head. I remember thinking, I’m the only one who can see that boat on his head; it must be a dream boat. And I drew a quick sketch.”)

He sets out to tell family members about his “amazing” dream, but no one is quite listening. Observant readers will notice that the boat is increasingly embellished with features he sees on or near his own family members—the rainbow-colored fish food his mother is tossing into the aquarium becomes the “polka-dotted sails,” and the baby food his sister is flinging around the kitchen becomes the “golden flag”—as well as other nautical clues, including a message in a bottle on the family’s kitchen table. Read the rest of this entry �

Here at 7-Imp today, I’m showing you some illustrations from one of the books I had intended to include in that column, the very beautiful Isabella’s Garden (Candlewick, March 2012), written by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Rebecca Cool, both from Australia. You may be wondering why I didn’t include that book in the column, if I had intended to do so. What can I say? My brain took a wee nap. I like Isabella’s Garden so much that it was going to lead off my column, in fact. For real. But then, since I have an excess of picture books in my home, I was all, oh! But look over here at this one! Ooh, look at THAT one! Hold up, here’s another …. And pretty soon I was just spinning in circles and had forgotten about my beloved Isabella’s Garden, which all resulted in my hand meeting my forehead.

But I share it with you today — just over here at 7-Imp, instead of at Kirkus. Below is a bit more about the book, as well as one more beautiful spread from it.

The Earth Day Kirkus column is here this morning.

 

Last week, I wrote about Aubrey Davis’s A Hen for Izzy Pippik—that link is here—illustrated by Marie Lafrance (Kids Can Press, March 2012). Both author and illustrator are Canadian. Below are some more illustrations from the book. (And you can see a few more spreads from the book here at Lafrance’s blog.)

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

This morning over at Kirkus, I’ve got a short Q & A up with author, historian, and critic Leonard S. Marcus. We’re discussing his (wonderful) new Candlewick title, Show Me a Story! Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World’s Most Celebrated Illustrators. This will be released in early May. And picture book fans won’t want to miss it. Not if you can help it at all.

I interview a lot of people here at 7-Imp, but I have to say I was a bit nervous talking to Marcus. He’s only insanely talented in about seven hundred different directions (to be not-dramatic-at-all about it), and he writes so well about our special, beloved picture books. (“Our” meaning me and my dear impish blog readers, given that we’re all picture book junkies.)

So. Right. That’s all to say that I am a huge fan of his books and writings in general — and everything he has contributed to children’s literature.

The link is here this morning. Come join the fun. I ask him about surprises, contemporary picture books, e-books, whether or not he thinks Don Draper is really ready to settle down, and what he’s researching now. I may not have asked him about one of those. You’ll have to read the Q & A to find out.

Sheer and utter laziness is what I bring you today, dear Imps. Well, laziness of a sort. I have some illustrations to showcase today, but as for my thoughts on the book, I’m going to direct you to Betsy Bird’s recent review of the same title.

And that’s for several reasons: 1) I’m sleepy right now but really want to yawp about what a good book this is; 2) what a good book this is!; and 3) Betsy … well, shoot, y’all. She is such a detailed and thoughtful reviewer. (And her INTROS! The intros to her reviews, I always note, are so well-penned. That’s an art and a science right there, nailing an intro and snagging the reader. But I digress.) Once I read her review, I thought, hmmm…what she said. So, I’m going to just shoo you on over to her review — after you take in these spreads, that is.

The book in question? Coralie Saudo’s (also an illustrator) My Dad is Big and Strong, But… This is a French import, originally published in 2010 as Mon Papa, Il est Grand, Il est Fort, MAIS… As I’ve said before, thank goodness for Enchanted Lion Books and their eye on international titles. Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, this one is a true delight.

In this table-turner of a picture book, a father gives his young son the kind of hell … er, fuss that children like to give the parental units at bedtime. (Think: I’m scared of the dark; one more story, PLEASE; and can I sleep in here with you?) And it’s funny. (Dad all curled up under the covers, scared of the dark, still in his hat and tie? It’s a hoot, I say.) And, as Betsy writes, the art is oh-so European. Or at least you get the sense right off the bat that you’re likely not dealing with a picture book born in the States. Here’s part of what she writes: Read the rest of this entry �

Author/illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger has been called the “the Queen of the Concept Book” (the Horn Book), a title she’s earned with a slew of unique and exceedingly clever picture books, ones that make the ordinary extraordinary on many levels. For her 2007 title, First the Egg—which earned her a 2008 Caldecott Honor, as well as a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor—Sara London in the New York Times wrote that the “playground of perception seems to be Seeger’s most natural arena,” calling that book “a feat of ingenuity.” And you could say that ingenuity has driven many of her other beautifully-designed picture books as well (many using die-cuts), all pictured below, books in which children naturally delight in learning. “I have always been fascinated with concepts,” Seeger stated in her 2007 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award acceptance speech for Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories, “and making books is a way for me to share with children new ways to learn and conceptualize. It is my wish that my books will help children discover concepts, not just learn them — from the alphabet to colors to opposites; and on to the idea of negative space and the power of seeing, guessing and anticipating, and finding answers.”

But smart concept books aside, Seeger has also brought readers one of children’s literature’s most unforgettable and lovable duos, Dog and Bear. “What do a frisky dachshund and a slightly timid stuffed bear have in common?” she writes at her site. “They are best friends.” Dog and Bear appeared in 2007—winning many honors, including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Best Picture Book—in three short and endearing stories, perfect for early readers. That book was followed by two more volumes of Dog and Bear tales, stories that emanate warmth and humor.

Laura’s newest title, Green (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press, March 2012), also including die-cuts, has been met with rave reviews all-around and has even generated Caldecott buzz this early in the year. It’s just that good. Pamela Paul describes it as “one of those deceptively simple picture books that to the casual bookstore browser can seem to be about nothing much at all. But the reader who settles down and slowly pages through its gorgeous acrylic paintings or, better yet, reads it aloud to a young child, will find rich rewards.” In this one, Laura explores the color green, and I boldly say that you really must get a copy of this in your very own hands and read for yourself. Laura also says a bit more about it below.

I’m so glad Laura’s at the 7-Imp breakfast table this morning. Turns out that breakfast is her favorite meal of the day. (That makes two of us.) “Usually,” she told me, “I have two eggs over easy, half a grapefruit, a hollowed-out bagel with a little butter, and tea or coffee. Then I’m pretty much set for the day, unless, of course, there’s sushi on the menu later!”

I’ll set the table, while I get the basics from her before our breakfast chat. I thank her for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

So, as a follow-up to yesterday’s post, this may or may not be what happens when dragons and jalapeño peppers mix:

Best spread in the book. Click to embiggen it and see it in detail.

Until tomorrow…

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS. Copyright © 2012 by Adam Rubin. Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Daniel Salmieri. Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin, New York. Spread reproduced by permission of publisher.

Do you know those really funny picture books that don’t get in the way of their own humor, that perhaps don’t even get how very funny they are, much like that wicked funny friend you have, who cracks you up yet doesn’t realize how wicked sharp her own wit is? Or perhaps doesn’t even know the power of her own goofy and how extremely entertaining it is to everyone around her?

Or, better yet, here are the words of the late, great James Marshall on the matter:

“[H]umor, which I do—comedy—is very tricky. You can’t show how hard you work. You can’t call attention to yourself. You can’t show the wheels turning. It’s got to be like a balloon that floats up into the air. You don’t make the reader, the viewer aware of anything but the story.”

Read the rest of this entry �

Tomorrow over at Kirkus, I’ll have some thoughts on A Hen for Izzy Pippik, written by Aubrey Davis and illustrated by Marie Lafrance. That link will be here in the morning.

Last Friday, I weighed in on Mary Ann Hoberman’s Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart, illustrated by Michael Emberley. That column is here. Pictured above is Emberley’s illustration for Theodore Roethke’s “Dinky.” Below are some more spreads from the book.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

Hi, dear Imps. (It was decided in this past Sunday’s kicks post that my readers shall be called “Imps,” per the special one and only Little Willow, and I like this name for my readers. A lot.)

I’ll be heading to Massachusetts this week for work, so I’ve got just a couple of follow-up posts this week here at 7-Imp. This is better than an announcement saying, I’ll be away all week and so I got nothin’ for ya, which I had initially planned. A couple of follow-up posts is about all my busy week of travel will allow, though I have a growing list of breakfast interviewees to have over for coffee. I’ll get to those soon. Promise.

Last week, I conducted a short Q & A over at Kirkus with Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, pictured left at a school visit. The brief interview is here, if you’re so inclined to read it.

Today, I’ve got some art from some of the books he mentioned in that interview—some books already released and some not yet on shelves—because I simply can’t NOT post art. (You’re welcome for that annoying sentence construction. It’s late as I type this. What can I say?)

Pictured above, as noted in the caption under the image, is an illustration by John Parra for “The Captive,” Pat’s poem about Mitsuye Endo, who was a Japanese-American interned during World War II. That comes from When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders (Chronicle), to be released this Fall and with illustrations from John, Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, and Meilo So. Another illustration from that is below, as well as spreads from several other books.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �