Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Valentine’s Day may have passed, but since you’re probably still reeling from (or still eating) some of the delicious treats that are part and parcel of the holiday, I thought I’d tell you on this Nonfiction Monday about Delicious: The Life & Art of Wayne Thiebaud by Susan Goldman Rubin and published by Chronicle Books in December of last year. In May of ’07, Rubin brought us — also via Chronicle Books — a board book for the wee-est of children (reviewed here at 7-Imp) of the art of Wayne Thiebaud, an American painter born in 1920 whose work is associated with the Pop Art movement. This time she gives us an over-one-hundred-page look at his life, officially geared at ages 9 to 12.

My heart belongs to any painter who has been quoted as saying, “Cakes, they are glorious, they are like toys.” Yes, Thiebaud is probably best known for turning to paintings of gumballs, cupcakes, pies, cakes, and other culinary ecstasies. Read the rest of this entry �

Jules here, piping up to talk a bit about my valentine reads for this week, the ones to which I say, Be Mine. And if you yourself are in the mood for some stories about that complicated thing called love, then here are two recommendations for you.

First, there’s David Levithan’s new short story collection, How They Met, and Other Stories (Random House; January ’08; review copy). The rest of the world knows already that Levithan writes well about love (Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility), but this is actually my first Levithan read. Hey, a girl’s gotta start somewhere. Me likey, too. This is a collection of eighteen short stories, each one about love — straight, gay, sane, not-so-sane, old-fashioned and heart-tuggin’, young, old, you-name-it. Apparently, Levithan started writing a story for his friends as a Valentine’s Day gift every year, and now we have them in one spot in How They Met. “Not all of these stories are official valentine stories — I can, it seems, write about love and its follies year-round,” he writes in the opening author’s note. And he also goes way back to his very first story, written in high school, and also tells us, “instead of trying to rewrite them as I’d write them now, I decided to leave them as I wrote them in high school, give or take some punctuation and an awkward last line.” Hmmm, bold. I like that, too.

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Today is February 7th, the first day of the lunar year for 2008, and Grace Lin has stopped by to celebrate it with some illustrations from her newest picture book, the exuberant Bringing in the New Year (Alfred A. Knopf; January ’08).

I’ve had the pleasure of reading this new book all about the Chinese New Year, now more commonly called Lunar New Year and one of the most celebrated holidays in the world, as Grace explains in a spread at the close of the book whose purpose is to describe the many customs associated with the holiday. And these traditions are brought to vivid life in Grace’s book, which provides an introduction to the holiday for a preschool-aged audience. The book describes one family’s preparations for the celebration of the holiday — from sweeping the old year out of the house to hanging “spring-happiness poems” (red decorations featuring spring poems and good wishes) to making dumplings and cutting hair. “All this is done so the New Year can start fresh,” Grace writes in the final spread.

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As a student in a graduate library school program, I was often reminded that Black History Month is of course important but that children’s librarians need to remember to avoid excessive tokenism. In other words, don’t pull all the books with black protagonists out for merely one month. To be sure, there has been controversy over such things, designating one month in the year dedicated to the history of one race, which can be reduced for some people to a perfunctory ritual with little meaning (this same tokenism can apply to poetry and the month of April as well as all the other months designated with themes).

Having said that, though, we are coming upon Black History Month, and there are some fabulous picture book biographies from last year and this year which feature prominent African-Americans. And the fact remains that — even if a librarian does a fine job of presenting a wide variety of so-called multicultural books throughout the entire school year and fully integrates African-American history into her regular curriculum, no matter the month — he or she is still expected to pull for teachers titles with African-American protagonists or ones created by African-American authors (as well as create that “Black History Month” book display). So here then are a small handful of outstanding recent titles, most of them new, that will work well for that cart o’ books for teachers and for that book display (which quickly will be raided if you’ve got the right books).

First, you’d be wise to treat yourself to this first biography, Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum (Schwartz & Wade; January 2008), which already has garnered several starred reviews (Kirkus, SLJ, Booklist). I am so in love with this book, particularly the illustrations, that I can’t possibly gush about it enough. This is the first book which acclaimed Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Robert Andrew Parker (himself a jazz musician) has written as well as illustrated, and it’s well worth your time and your students’. With an immediately engaging first-person, present tense narrative, we meet the young Art Tatum, who grew up to be a legendary jazz pianist and whom Count Basie called the eighth wonder of the world, in his home in Toledo where he was born. We also meet his mechanic father, his mother (“She often sings in the church down the street, but she isn’t singing here. She has too much cleaning to do”), and the rest of his family and friends. Though the young Art has “bad eyes” (“day and night, dark and light, don’t really matter to me”), he savors sounds and smells and plays on his mother’s piano as soon as he can reach the keyboard on tiptoe. Read the rest of this entry �

As many of you know, when we gather on Sundays to list our 7 Kicks for the week, we feature an illustration (or two or three or four) from some of our favorite illustrators, whether they have a new book coming out or not. And I’m such a fan of good picture book illustration that it’s become my favorite feature of all here at 7-Imp (here’s a list of whom we’ve featured thus far).

Author/Illustrator Anna Alter was lined up to be featured this Sunday but later re-scheduled for another Sunday. And when that Sunday didn’t work out for her after all (but after I had already lined up another illustrator for this weekend), I told her that 7-Imp would gladly feature her any ‘ol day of the week. Her illustrations have a way of brightening our days. As a result, I asked my Poetry Friday entry for today to scoot on over — shoo, shoo and skedaddle, I told it, and it obliged me — so that we could feature some art work from Anna’s new illustrated title, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks written by Anne Broyles (but, hey, I snuck in some poetry yesterday anyway). Read the rest of this entry �

If you missed this post two weeks ago, you may not know that I’m going to attempt — as often as my schedule allows — a new 7-Imp series of sorts in which I round-up seven picture book titles with reviews for the impossibly busy parents of the world. As I said last time, there can’t be any advance-proof reviewing goin’ on in these posts, none of that this-book-is-filthy-cool-but-won’t-come-out-for-three-more-months bit in this new feature. I need to line up those titles that are new, yet should be available at your local library — or at least being processed and about to be added to the collection. You’ll notice in this post that most of these titles were released in September of last year; the most difficult one to find at your local library might be the one released in December, but JUMP BACK it’s worth waiting for, though I’m getting ahead of myself here. (And, yeah, I’m going to drop the “Alice’s tips” bit and just get right to it from now on). I’d like to do this weekly, but — as you can see with the timing of this second post — it might be more like every two weeks.

Last time my seven picks were geared at the preschool crowd. Here are some more sophisticated titles for your older picture book readers (I’m sorry I can’t be more precise than that. I’m no good at the Age Range Game, as it all depends on the child, though I know it’s sometimes necessary). I’ve even thrown in two titles in one entry. Bonus! Enjoy.

How I wish I’d thought of the premise for this picture book: Suddenly, it’s bizarre-o world, and instead of children getting such things as lollipops and stickers after hair trimmings and flu shots, they get to cart home a real, live dinosaur. Told from the point-of-view of a young boy, all in favor of this plan and who simply cannot believe his eyes, it’s a lively, clever, larger-than-life tale of (almost) every kid’s dream-come-true. At the bakery, you can buy a dozen and get a dinosaur (a triceratops, to be precise). At the doctor’s office, no stickers. Just stegosaurs. With a shot, you get two. Bonus! While the boy is doing an exuberant victory dance, his mother is near to passing out over the shock of it all — and the sheer number of dinosaurs they’re accumulating and must find a place for in their back yard. When it’s all said and done, though, she has found a clever solution to this problem, one that makes our gap-toothed, red-headed protagonist happy as well. I can’t imagine any other illustrator taking this text and bringing it to life as well as David Small, who has fun with perspective in his precise, detailed, and exuberant spreads and who is clearly still tight with his inner child. Guaranteed to make the day of your favorite dinosaur-obsessed child.

What happens when you get a group of poets together to attempt to solve a problem? This is an offbeat, but beguiling, tale that shows us just that. A young girl opens the door to her bird’s cage, and out Chirpie flies straight to the branch of a tree. She runs to tell her friend, Monica, and “{s}he calls the poets” (naturally! I love it). So, here comes Priyanka, Vincent, Lily, Pendleton, and Marion, all speaking in a rather bouncy rhyme: “You need not worry. Haven’t you heard? There are oodles of ways to lure a bird.” Read the rest of this entry �

I should state up front my bias for any book illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering. If there were ever any doubt of my fan-dom for his style of illustrating, then my adoration was sealed with his playful and offbeat art work in 2006’s playful and offbeat Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen by Nancy Wood.

Candlewick has just released Ering’s latest title, one he both wrote and illustrated, Necks Out for Adventure: The True Story of Edwin Wiggleskin (January ’08; review copy). The protagonist, the titular Edwin, and his world look as far-out as the title sounds. Prepare to enter a world in which Ering channels his Inner Dahl in spirit and vocabulary (there are, for instance, red-spotted scrintalberry leaves, glimmering golden-eyes sliverstones, and a hideous hornly scratcher, who — in one particular illustration — seems himself to be channeling Seuss’ The Grinch and his never-ending diabolical grin). Read the rest of this entry �

Jules here, actually. Alice is a bit waylaid. The Queen yelled a rude comment about her head and it being, ahem, off’ed. And then Alice protested: Something about the Queen and the King and the Knave and everyone else all being nothing but a pack of cards, and, well . . . this is her predicament at the moment. So, I’ll take over and tell you about Alice’s New Idea for 7-Imp in ’08, numero two (the first one being revealed last Sunday. Do go see, if you missed it and if you’re so inclined).

For my part, when Eisha and I started this blog, my goal was to reach out to mama friends who would ask me for children’s lit book recommendations. Turns out that our audience here has been entirely different — primarily, other bloggers, publishers, authors, illustrators, editors, even literary agents, etc. Basically, a big ‘ol gaggle of Children’s and YA Lit Nerds (and I say that ever-so lovingly and respectfully. Of course of course. You’re my peeps, and I love you all).

But this new series, “Alice’s Seven Picture Book Tips for Impossibly Busy Parents,” would have those parents I initially had in mind as the audience. The idea is that I will list seven new picture books for busy parents as often as I can pull it off. I’d love to say once a week, but I reserve the right to not meet that goal (hey, we bloggers do this for fun, and I have to let work-that-pays come first, so I may not get to it every week, by all means). And here’s my challenge: I’ll have to be brief. ¡Aye Carumba! Can I do that? Yes, I’m up for the challenge. In my typical picture book round-ups (which I vow to continue as well), I do one paragraphs, but these will have to be even shorter, methinks, for those terrifically busy parents. Read the rest of this entry �

As many of you know, the shortlisted titles for several categories in the Cybils ’07 were announced on January 1st. That included the category I organized and for which I served as a nominating panelist, Fiction Picture Books. I already posted a bit about how much fun it was to choose the seven shortlisted titles with my fellow panelists. I thought I’d go ahead and share my previous reviews of the shortlisted titles and share some of the titles I adored so mightily, yet which didn’t make the list. And then I promise to get back to regular ‘ol reviews here in the new year.

I am really happy with the shortlisted titles in our category. Here they are. I look back at my ’07 reviews now and see that I managed to review all of them except one this year:

* * * The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington and illustrated by Shelley Jackson — Here’s my review from May of this year. Love that chicken-chasing queen. LOVE her.

* * * Four Feet, Two Sandals — written by Karen Lynn Williams (who has her Master’s degree in Deaf Education — the sign language interpreter in me points that out and says “yes!”) and Khadra Mohammed and illustrated by Doug Chayka. Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers in August 2007. This is the one title of all the shortlisted ones that I didn’t manage to review this year. This is a pensive, poignant glimpse into the world of two Afghani girls in a refugee camp, a world we don’t often see (for more than two femtoseconds in a brief news clip) in contemporary American culture. We’re talkin’ the crowded, harsh landscape of refugee life in which used clothing from relief workers is a novelty and a thrill — yet also, in this story, comes to represent more than just sartorial bliss.

* * * Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz — Here’s my review from November of this year. Move over, Harold. Make way for Lucy and Monster.

* * * The Incredible Book-Eating Boy — Here’s my review from June of this year. How do I love Oliver Jeffers? Let me count the ways.

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Jules here. I wanted, even though I mentioned this yesterday, to remind everyone that the shortlist titles in some — but not all — of the Cybils ’07 categories will be announced on January 1st. And that includes the category I organized and on which I served as a panelist, Fiction Picture Books.

I think our shortlisters for Fiction Picture Books are wonderful titles; I’m happy with the list and anxious to share it with everyone. There were three titles I had in my mind as Ones That Would Make Me Moan and Wail and Kick and Scream and Pout Like a Two-Year-Old If They Did Not Land Squarely on the Shortlist (including an illustrator whom I wanted to appear on the list in one way or another), and only one of them made it*. For a moment, I considered standing on my rooftop and yelling, in the words of Chief Wiggum, “you know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society.” My own barbaric yawp across the rooftops of a small town in middle Tennesee. But, nah, I love the rest of the shortlist; it’s an impressive collection of picture book titles; I’m proud of it; and I particularly loved creating and molding it into shape with my Cybils ’08 peeps: Marcie at World of Words; MotherReader; Annie at Crazy for Kids’ Books; and Cheryl Rainfield. I was telling Cheryl yesterday if we channeled her passion for good books, we could power the globe. But if you channel the passion of all four of those panelists put together, you could power . . . uh, the . . . uh, solar system. Or the universe AND its screened-in back porch. Ahem, it’s hard to take that metaphor any further.

But you get the idea.

So, be looking for our shortlist at the Cybils blog tomorrow! This post over there will remind you which shortlists will be revealed tomorrow — and which on January 7th (Eisha’s category, Non-fiction Picture Books, falls into the latter category, though she is a nominating panelist for Young Adult Fiction, whose shortlist also will be revealed at that later date).

Oh and also, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL! Wahoo! My self-imposed blog break (well, minus this post and yesterday’s — Ooh! Ooh! R. Gregory Christie stopped by! Go see) might extend a bit further into the week, as it’s almost 2008, which so completely needs to be celebrated; my husband still has off work; and I’m still just kicking back a bit. But you know I’ll be back soon and running my mouth about books.

Happy ’08! In the words of Mark Twain, “now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”

* Actually, there were a couple other titles that I’d put in the screaming and pouting category, but I didn’t have to argue for them, as it was immediately clear that we all loved them and they’d ez-ily made the shortlist.