Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
Forgive me, dear Imps, for writing about a picture book that won’t be on shelves till September, but I can’t help myself. Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away (Candlewick), written by Newbery Medalist Meg Medina and illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, is the story of two best friends. They have one final day of play before one of them leaves for her new home. It’s moving day, but the two girls make the most of their last hours together.

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From Book Two of the March trilogy

 

Hello, dear Imps. I had plans for today’s post that I am temporarily setting aside, given the news of the passing of Representative John Lewis. It’s a tremendous loss, and I want to do something here at 7-Imp to mark it.

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Here’s a post that is a bit of a preview of a picture book coming out in September (because I can’t help myself). Our Little Kitchen (Abrams) is from Caldecott Honoree Jillian Tamaki and tells the story of a group of neighbors who come together to make a meal in a community kitchen. “Every Wednesday, we come together in this little kitchen,” the book opens. “Our little kitchen, a tiny, small place, is just big enough, so squeeze in and make space ….”

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“Here is Keith Haring painting a mural with hundreds of children in Tama City, Japan. Keith draws the outlines and the kids fill them in with their own designs.”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
Note that today’s book, as the subtitle tells us, is “a” story of legendary artist Keith Haring. It’s not “the” story of Keith Haring, because it’s not as if only one story could capture his life and his spirit. This subtle word choice is one of many thoughtful details that went into the creation of this spectacular picture book biography.

Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring (Enchanted Lion, May 2020), written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Josh Cochran, opens with the spread pictured above, which so perfectly communicates the essence of Keith’s artistic vision—and legacy. At this page turn, we then meet Keith as a child. …

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“I know it might take a little while.
But that’s okay—I can wait.”

 
Sepideh Sarihi’s My Favorite Memories (Blue Dot Kids Press, August 2020) is a truly international affair. This story comes from an author born in Iran, who has lived in Germany for nearly a decade now. Illustrator Julie Völk is Austrian, and the book was translated from the German by the award-winning translator Elisabeth Lauffer. The original German-language edition of this book was released in 2018.

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(Click spread to enlarge)

 
Khalil lives in a new house. He lives upstairs, and downstairs lives elderly Mr. Hagerty, whose life is signficantly more quiet than the “big and busy and noisy” lives of Khalil’s family. The two tenants share a backyard, and each loves it. Mr. Hagerty works in his garden; Khalil hunts bugs and “interesting rocks.”

This is the story of Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures (Candlewick, May 2020), written by Tricia Springstubb and illustrated by Elaheh Taherian.

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Louis: “I wish I was alone. …”
(Click image to read poem in its entirety)

 
I Wish is a Dutch import, originally released in 2011 and now on American shelves (March 2020), thanks to Elsewhere Editions. Translated by David Colmer, this striking collection of poems, over a hundred pages long, was written by famed Dutch writer Toon Tellegen (a 2006 finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Award) and includes portraits by the award-winning Flemish illustrator Ingrid Godon.

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(Click to enlarge)

 
Today, I’ve some spreads from A. E. Ali’s Our Favorite Day of the Year (Salaam Reads, June 2020), illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell. It’s a sweet, earnest story — one about budding kindergarten friendships and learning to accept diverse ways of life. Other than one’s home, where else but in classrooms can we better instill such an appreciation in children? Pictured above are the book’s endpapers, which depict symbols from various cultures around the world.

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“White sand. Green field.” The first spread of Tara Dairman’s Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy (Putnam, May 2020), illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan, is divided into horizontal strips — one image, dominated by copper colors, of a dry, hot desert and the second, dominated by lush greens, blues, and purples, of fields that have seen plenty of rain. Turn the page to meet the families who live in each locale.

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Today, I’ve got some spreads from one of my favorite summer reads, Gillian Goerz’s Shirley & Jamila Save Their Summer (Dial, July 2020). Gillian also shares some early sketches and such from this, her first graphic novel. (Pictured above are drawings of the two main characters.)

This is the story, set in Canada, of two girls who strike up a friendship and — bonus! — solve a mystery together. But that basic summary doesn’t quite capture the many delights of this book. It’s a story whose biggest strength lies in its detailed, whip-smart characterizations.

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