Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
Over at BookPage is a piece I wrote about Music for Mister Moon (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, March 2019)), written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, and David Zeltser’s The Night Library (Random House, April 2019), illustrated by Raúl Colón. That is here, if you’d like to read about both books.

I’ll have some art another day this week from The Night Library, but today I’ve got some preliminary images and final spreads from Erin from Music for Mister Moon. I thank her for sharing.

Note: To read more about the book and how Erin created the illustrations, head here.

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I’m sending you to the Horn Book’s site this morning for a review I wrote of Deborah Freedman’s Carl and the Meaning of Life (Viking, April 2019). How about that wonderful title?

The review is here, if you’re so inclined to read it.

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“At church, Daddy points to the spot where he and Uncle Jay
performed a duet on trombone and trumpet. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in it entirety)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got three new picture books that are about, in one way or another, family.

That is here.

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Speaking of family, last week I wrote here about Kelly Starling Lyons’ Going Down Home with Daddy (Peachtree, April 2019), illustrated by Daniel Minter. Today in this follow-up post, I’ve some spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I have a chat with author Kerry Madden-Lunsford, whose new picture book is called Ernestine’s Milky Way (Schwartz & Wade, March 2019) and is illustrated by Emily Sutton. You can give me a picture book set in the Great Smoky Mountains any day.

The interview is over here at the wonderful Chapter 16 site, and here at 7-Imp today I have some of Emily’s spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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“Drowsy contentment. Cool night air. We’re cuddled in the rocking chair.
Familiar lullabies to croon. This gentle time, our babymoon.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Hayley Barrett’s Babymoon, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal. That is here if you’d like to read about the book.

I’ve got a few spreads from the book here today, and BONUS! Juana shares different versions of sketches for one spread. I’m tellin’ ya … I could look at her beautiful sketches all day. Here’s what she said about it: Read the rest of this entry �

— From Lorena Alvarez’s Hicotea

 

— From Mordicai Gerstein’s I Am Hermes!

 

— From Ivan Brunetti’s Comics: Easy as ABC!

 
At Kirkus today, I’ve got a visually rich new picture book about celebrating family.

That is here.

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Over at Kirkus last week, I wrote here about Lorena Alvarez’s Hicotea: A Nightlights Story (Nobrow, March 2019); Mordicai Gerstein’s I Am Hermes!: Mischief-Making Messenger of the Gods (Holiday House, April 2019), and Comics: Easy as ABC!: The Essential Guide to Comics for Kids (April 2019) from TOON Books and Ivan Brunetti (and other comics artists). Today, I’ve got some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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To call the humor in David Elliot’s Oink understated is … well, an understatement. For instance, the book’s big joke (which is exceedingly funny in its restraint) hinges on a few small wavy lines from Elliot. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, the basics. …

Oink is a picture book import from New Zealand; it looks like it published there in 2018 and is now on shelves here in the States, thanks to Gecko Press. David Elliot, in fact, lives there and is not to be confused with the talented American David (with two “t”s) Elliott.

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“‘Little Black Fish, are you still breathing?’ she asked.”
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)

 
Today I’m showcasing some artwork from Samad Behrangi’s The Little Black Fish, illustrated by Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Farshid Mesghali and first published in Persian in Iran in 1968. An English version was translated last year in the UK by Azita Rassi, and in mid-April a version will be on shelves here in the States (Tiny Owl Publishing).

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“She’s slowing down.”
— From Miranda Paul’s Nine Months, illustrated by Jason Chin
(Click to enlarge spread)

 

“One … two … three … blow. Happy birthday, baby!”
— From Jane Godwin and Davina Bell’s Baby Day, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got some comics for you.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Miranda Paul’s Nine Months: Before a Baby Is Born (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, April 2019), illustrated by Jason Chin, as well as Jane Godwin and Davina Bell’s Baby Day (Atheneum, March 2019), illustrated by Freya Blackwood.

Today, I’ve some art from each book, and Jason also shares some preliminary images from Nine Months. About the illustrations for the book, Jason writes: “The family is my brother, Michael and his wife, Mariana. The baby is Olivia (who the book is dedicated to), who was born when I was painting the book. The older sister is actually based on my daughter, as Olivia was Mike and Mariana’s first child. Mariana is from Morelia, Mexico, which is why there is a Morelia, Michoacán poster, a Spanish language book, etc.”

Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry �

 
Sophie Gilmore’s picture book debut, Little Doctor and the Fearless Beast (Owlkids, March 2019), is the story of a “child the crocodiles called Little Doctor.” Carefully, tenderly, and kindly she treats the reptiles who come to her, looking for healing. After she has administered care, she hears the creatures’ adventure tales and listens in wonder to the “fearless beasts they described.”

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