Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I’m so pleased that author/illustrator Tom Lichtenheld is visiting today. I’ve wanted him to visit the blog for a while, and we just haven’t pulled it off. (Till now!) I enjoy his work. Did you all see Exclamation Mark (Scholastic, March 2013), his most recent collaboration with Amy Krouse Rosenthal? It’s exceedingly clever, that one. Yet I never got around to blogging about it, despite my best intentions.

Tom’s newest book, Sing (to be released this week from Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt) is so joyous and so just-the-right-book-for-him that I’m extra pleased he’s visiting today to tell us all about it. My regular readers know I’m a ginormous music-lover, and for that reason—and lots of others having to do with Tom’s abundant talents as an illustrator—I think this book is special. It’s unabashedly cheerful without being the slightest bit cloying about it.

As Tom explains below, this is a picture book adaptation of Joe Raposo’s song, made famous on Sesame Street. “The most interesting part,” Tom told me, “was that the song, though sweet and well-known, doesn’t have or need any semblance of a story. To turn it into a picture book I had to not only come up with a story, but one that was completely visual, so the lyrics could remain pure. Being handed this challenge was an honor, so the book holds a special place for me. I also like that it has a quieter mood than my usual zany stuff; I like books at opposite ends of the spectrum — mindlessly ridiculous or thoughtfully sweet.”

Let’s get right to it so that Tom can tell us more about it, and I thank him for sharing today. Read the rest of this entry �

My Imp readers will have to forgive me today: I don’t have illustrations to share this morning, as I always do on Sundays, but I was out of town this weekend for Knoxville’s 2013 Children’s Festival of Reading. Knoxville does these festivals up right, and they’re always good fun.

This year (as I did last year) I moderated a picture book panel. 2013’s visitors included—as pictured left to right above—author Deborah Diesen, author/illustrator Bob Shea, author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka (had never met him in person before, but I feel like he’s an old friend, so that was particularly fun), author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, and author Marc Tyler Nobleman (do you all know about his pop culture research projects? … I love that).

So, that’s what I offer you today — a photo of people having just finished discussing picture books, which is always a kick. (Best question was from a child, and it was along the lines of “you’re grown-ups, so how do you relate to kids?” Or maybe it was “…so, how do you write for children?” Either way, it was a pretty profound question.) Read the rest of this entry �

As I’ve made clear before here at 7-Imp, I’m a fan of the illustration work of Komako Sakai (who even visited for a brief interview last year). So, I was happy to see that she’s illustrated a new book, this one written by Hatsue Nakawaki. It’s called Wait! Wait!, and it’s for very young children. It will be released by Enchanted Lion Books in June, but I’ve got a sneak-peek of it today.

In a story mirroring the staccato rhythms of a toddler, we meet a young child dressed in overalls, ever-curious about the natural world. The child spots a butterfly—“Wait! Wait!”—and watches it flutter away. With each animal seen, the child reaches out to touch and learn, yet the creature flees — flying in the air, wiggling away. In the end, an adult (whom we assume is the parent) picks up the child, saying “Wait! Wait” in the same manner in which the child was trying to secure and hold other creatures. He then places the child on his shoulders, saying “Here we go!”

Sakai’s delicately-colored acrylic and oil pencil illustrations are beautiful. Her tight focus in these spreads puts us right with the toddler, exploring and reaching. She also includes pretty much the essentials here — the child and the creatures with which he or she (this could easily be either a male or female child) is fascinated, with the addition of a few supporting details, barely outlined in some cases, and generous white space. It really works. And I’m taken with her flying pigeons, as you can see below, and the compelling sense of movement here. Read the rest of this entry �

It’s the first Sunday of the month, when I give the 7-Imp breakfast table over to student or new illustrators, and this morning I welcome newly-graduated Elisabeth Craster. Craster is “a phenomenal draftswoman,” in the words of her instructor (and the award-winning illustrator) Shadra Strickland, who taught Elisabeth at the Maryland Institute College of Art. I believe Shadra also told me Elisabeth is a fan of the illustration work of Susan Jeffers, and you’ll understand why when you see more of her artwork below.

Elisabeth—who writes at her site, “It takes a special brand of crazy to go to school for art”—is visiting today to say a bit more about her work. She also writes at her site that she “aspires to create illustrated storybooks, book covers, and posters for children and young adults.” I thank her for visiting … Read the rest of this entry �

I’m feeling ambitious today and am featuring three picture books this morning — not just one, as I usually do on Sundays. Actually, since Frank Viva is also giving me a sneak peek at his upcoming Fall picture book, I’ve got four.

What I have in mind is this: Each of these books is a follow-up book in one way or another — at least in my mind. See the Radunksy-illustrated title above? I featured another picture book illustrated by him recently (remember this one?), having forgotten altogether that I also wanted to show art from this book at the same time. As for the van Hout-illustrated title, I featured this book by van Hout last year, so I’m following up here today with his latest. And, finally, I’m following up with Frank Viva to see what he’s up to now (and this Fall, as already mentioned). Hence, the follow-up-ness of today’s post.

Let’s get to it. Read the rest of this entry �

What a week. (Caveat: That is not a hyperlink to launch and bring into your life if you are offended by rampant cursing.)

Here is part of what Camille Guthrie wrote at the Poetry Foundation’s web site about this unforgettable week we’ve had here in the U.S.:

“This week I want to believe Elaine Scarry, who argues that Beauty is a compact, or contract, between the beautiful being and its perceiver: ‘As the beautiful being confers on the perceiver the gift of life, so the perceiver confers on the beautiful being the gift of life.’ This week in which a marathon was bombed, senators refused to pass a commonsensical gun law, a plant exploded on a small town, a week in which beauty feels irrelevant and the gift of life feels utterly vulnerable.”

And in this poem, Wislawa Szymborska captures what went through my mind when I saw the bombing footage on television.

Now, more than ever, do we need to gather and list some kicks and look for some beauty, for crying out loud. To be clear, it’s always good to find the slivers of sunlight, even in happier times, and let us also not forget those people overseas who experience on a daily basis the violence Boston experienced this week. (See here.)

But, well. Yes. This week. Wow.

And I feel like George Shannon’s Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? (Henry Holt, March 2013), illustrated by Julie Paschkis (who is visiting this morning), is just the fitting, life-affirming picture book to feature today. As Julie has already written about it—here, which I highly recommend reading—“I was drawn to the underlying meaning of the book: that every person’s contributions matter. As George put it, the book is an ode to the widest sense of community. … George’s text shows the joy that comes through doing work and being part of something bigger than yourself.” Read the rest of this entry �

As evidenced by today’s post, I’m still in the celebrate-Spring mode. (For those of you Imp readers who still have snow, I share this in an attempt to warm you.) And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by featuring author/illustrator Elisa Kleven’s newest picture book, Glasswings: A Butterfly’s Story (to be released by Dial this week), which Kirkus calls a “joyously optimistic book.” And Elisa’s visiting today to say a bit about it and share lots of art, as well as a few early sketches.

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I’m cheating today.

Normally, on the first Sunday of each month, I feature a student illustrator or someone debuting a picture book. Today’s illustrations are from the acclaimed illustrator Gennady Spirin, who is hardly new to children’s lit. In fact, he’s received five gold medals from the Society of Illustrators; he has been awarded First Prize for Illustration at the Barcelona International Children’s Book Fair, as well as the Premio Grafico at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair; he received the Golden Apple of the Bratislava International Biennale of children’s book illustration; and on four different occasions his work has been placed on the New York Times Best Illustrated Books list.

But last Sunday, I featured a debut artist, the talented Eliza Wheeler. And today I can’t help but show Spirin’s illustrations from Brenda Z. Guiberson’s Frog Song (Henry Holt, February 2013). Know why? The book is, as Pamela Paul wrote at the New York Times, “nothing less than a springtime reverie.” And I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but Spring has finally sprung here—warm temps and all—and I feel like celebrating today. Read the rest of this entry �

Happy Sunday. Happy Easter. Happy chocolate eggs.

I don’t want to go on and on right here about today’s featured artist, Eliza Wheeler, and her debut picture book, Miss Maple’s Seeds (Nancy Paulsen/Penguin)—which will be released this week—because she is visiting this morning to share sketches and art and tell us about her work. And I’m pleased she’s visiting and want to get right to it.

I’ll say this much, though, before I hand the breakfast table over to her: Her book is the story of Miss Maple, tiny enough to get around on a bluebird and whose home is in a maple tree. Miss Maple gathers “orphan seeds” that get lost during spring planting; she nurtures them in her home, even during the winter months; and she then sends them off “to find roots of their own.” It’s a tender story with a big heart about the care that goes into nurturing living things — as well as the notion that even the smallest of such life needs our attention. “Take care, my little ones, for the world is big and you are small” is her repeated refrain, as you can see above. Wheeler’s art is delicate and warm, and she has created a detailed miniature world for her protagonist; these are inviting landscapes for young readers.

Today, Eliza discusses the book, as well as shares sketches and art from other projects, including the cover art she did for Holly Black’s new novel, Doll Bones (McElderry Books/Simon and Schuster, May 2013). (I haven’t read this yet, but I’m definitely intrigued after Betsy Bird’s recent review.)

Let’s get to all the art, and I thank Eliza for visiting. Read the rest of this entry �

Like a lot of folks right now in this country, I’m eager for warmer weather and some Spring. And since this past week marked the first official day of Spring, I can’t help but share some art today from Spring Blossoms (Charlesbridge, February 2013), written by author and poet Carole Gerber and illustrated by Leslie Evans. And Leslie’s popping in today to say a bit about the illustrations.

This picture book comes from the two women who also created Winter Trees and Leaf Jumpers, as Leslie mentions below. In fact, Winter Trees was featured here at 7-Imp way back in 2008.

In Spring Blossoms, readers follow two young girls and a dog through Gerber’s rhyming text as they celebrate Spring “bursting out all over” and the warm weather. The girls are running and playing outdoors, admiring the trees’ blossoms. They stop to appreciate what they see, including white dogwoods, crab apples, white pines, red maples, and more.

Evans renders these illustrations in linoleum block prints with watercolor, collage, and some digital work. Here she is to say a bit more about it:

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