Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
When German illustrator Torben Kuhlmann’s debut picture book, Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, was released here in the States two years ago, the New York Times described it as a “splendid debut.” Last year, Kuhlmann followed that up with Moletown, also met with glowing reviews (“gorgeous, mesmerizing artwork,” wrote Booklist), and this month readers will meet a star-gazing mouse in Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon, a visual feast over 120 pages long, which tells the story of a moon-bound mouse.

Kuhlmann studied illustration and design in Hamburg and still lives in northern Germany. It’s thanks to NorthSouth Books that we readers here in the States can see his books. Since I’ll be traveling tomorrow morning, he’s joining me, not for breakfast, but a post-dinner snack. (He said his breakfasts almost always consist of a hot cup of coffee and several kinds of bread with jam, so I’m good with having that for our snack. Coffee any time is good. Also, jam. Always jam.)

It’s a good thing to see all his art, and I thank him for sharing. Let’s get right to it.

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means it’s time to feature a student or up-and-coming illustrator. Today, Jessica Boehman visits, and I’ve actually wanted her to visit for a long while now, but … well, it gets busy in 7-Imp Land. I’m glad she’s finally here.

Jessica also teaches art (and art history) in New York, but she talks more about that below. It’s a pleasure to feature her art today, which manages to be both fresh and timeless. Let’s get right to it, since she also tells us a bit about her work. Please note that you can see more of her art at her site, at Facebook, and on Instagram.

I thank her for visiting.

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Today over at Kirkus, I take a look at Francesca Sanna’s The Journey (Flying Eye, September 2016). That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Kate Beaton’s King Baby (Levine/Scholastic, September 2016) and Vera Brosgol’s Leave Me Alone! (Roaring Brook, September 2016). I’ve got art from each book here today.

Enjoy!

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“Every narrative is the culmination of a lot of experimentation. For this story, I did know that I wanted readers to feel as if they were experiencing a lot of what Louis was going through as he lost his sight and grappled with what the rest of his life would become because of that.”

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Over at Kirkus today, I talk to author Jen Bryant, pictured here, about her new picture book, Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille (Knopf, September 2016), illustrated by Boris Kulikov.

That is here this morning. You can see art from the book at this 7-Imp post from earlier this year.

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Photo of Jen taken by Amy Dragoo and used by her permission.

“… and the fish saw A CAT …”
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Because I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Brendan Wenzel’s They All Saw a Cat (Chronicle, August 2016), I’m sharing some spreads from it today. Here is the review if you want to read more about the book.

Enjoy the art!

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I chatted over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16 with Mac Barnett and Adam Rex in advance of their visit next week to Parnassus Books here in Nashville. We talked about their new picture book, How This Book Was Made (Disney-Hyperion, September 2016); Chloe and the Lion, which was published in 2012 (here is where Adam visited 7-Imp back then to talk about that one); honky-tonk; and more. You can click on the image above to head to Chapter 16’s site and read our chat.

Wanna see some art from How This Book Was Made? You can head to this 7-Imp post from earlier this year. Scroll down a bit. Voilà!

Enjoy!

“The Uncorker’s heart was a glass vessel filled to the brim.”
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Pictured above is a preliminary image from Erin E. Stead’s illustrations for Michelle Cuevas’ The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (Dial, August 2016), as well as a spread from the book. I have a review of this picture book over at BookPage (here), and Erin visits today to talk a bit about the art and to share some images.

I thank her for sharing. Let’s get right to it.

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— From Eric Orchard’s Bera the One-Headed Troll

 

— From Jeffrey Brown’s Lucy & Andy Neanderthal

 

“Whoa.”
— From Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts
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— From Ben Hatke’s Mighty Jack
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— From Øyvind Torseter’s The Heartless Troll

 
This morning over at Kirkus, I’ve got two very funny picture books. That is here. I’ll have art from each book here at 7-Imp next week.

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Last week, I wrote a graphic-novel round-up here. Today, I’ve got a bit of art from each book — Eric Orchard’s Bera the One-Headed Troll (First Second, August 2016); Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts (Scholastic, September 2016); Jeffrey Brown’s Lucy & Andy Neanderthal (Crown, August 2016); Øyvind Torseter’s The Heartless Troll (Enchanted Lion, September 2016); and Ben Hatke’s Mighty Jack (First Second, September 2016);

Enjoy!

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“So the little giant asks the rain, What color is the wind?
The rain knows nothing.”
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Well, it occurred to me this morning that I’ve been blogging for ten years now. No better way to celebrate than to share some beautiful art, just like every other day in 7-Imp Land.

Here’s what I have for you today: Some art from Anne Herbauts’ What Color Is the Wind? (coming from Enchanted Lion in early October). This is a book originally published in France in 2011, which went on to win the Prix Sorcières, an annual children’s lit award in France. Incidentally, Herbauts is my age-ish (I think she’s four years younger), and she’s evidently published over 30 picture books and graphic novels and has been nominated three times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. I’m feelin’ kind of lazy today. She’s prolific, huh?

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“In his green living room are seats, saucers, statues, and two socks.
Where are Grandad’s socks?”
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This morning here at 7-Imp, I’m highlighting some spreads from Brian Cronin’s The Lost House: A Seek and Find Book, coming to shelves at the end of September from Viking. The book was just given the Gold Medal by the Society of Illustrator’s Original Art 2016 jury. (Read here for more information.)

In this story, readers enter a world of electric, saturated hues, meeting two grandchildren who are ready to head to the playground with their grandfather, but they can’t quite get out of the house. Grandad is forgetful and keeps asking them to help him find what he needs — his socks, his teeth, his umbrella, his bow tie, his cloth tote bag, etc. (though I like how the Publishers Weekly review notes: “To call this a seek-and-find book doesn’t come close to conveying the eccentricity of newcomer Cronin’s creation”).

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