Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Happy Halloween! Below is the Robert’s Snow schedule for Wednesday, October 31, 2007. Pictured here is an older snowflake, Mo Willems’ 2005 creation, entitled “Snow Devil,” done in pencil and ink. Mo’s ’07 snowflake, you’ll see below, is being featured today.

• Shawna Tenney, featured by Kate Messner at Kate’s Book Blog
• Adam Rex, featured by Stacy Dillon at Booktopia and welcome to my tweendom
• Mo Willems, featured by Pamela Coughlan at MotherReader
• Rolandas Kiaulevicius, featured by cloudscome at a wrung sponge

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I had planned on posting a book review today up above this snow schedule post, but then I saw this snowflake (also a Christmas-tree topper) for the 2007 Robert’s Snow: for Cancer’s Cure online auctions. It was created by illustrator Linda Wingerter. Why not let this sit atop our blog for a while in all its glory? Isn’t she gorgeous? As in, heart-stoppingly beautiful? Her name is Grace. I wouldn’t dare cover her up today.

This snowflake/piece of beauty by Linda did not make the illustrator list initially sent to me by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, so it wasn’t assigned to a blogger in this whole Blogging for a Cure effort. And I don’t believe it’s posted yet at the auction site. But I’m happy to show it to you today and to tell you a bit about Linda if you aren’t already a fan:

If you’re not familiar with Linda’s work, you can read our April interview with her, in which her talents as an illustrator, Blue Rose blogger, doll artisan, fire-spinner, puppeteer, and rollergirl are revealed. She’s probably best known for her illustrations in 2002’s One Grain of Sand: A Lullaby (Little, Brown and Company), a picture book adaptation of a lullaby written decades ago, which folksinger Pete Seeger composed for his daughter. Linda’s most recent book was 2005’s What Could Be Better Than This? by Linda Ashman (Dutton Juvenile). It’s a twist on the traditional fairy tale, the story of a dragon-slaying king and his seafaring bride who finally find their “happily ever after” in the simple, everyday wonders revealed to them by their young child. You can read about all of Linda’s illustrated titles thus far in that afore-linked interview.

I failed to find out in which auction (Auction 1, 2, or 3) this snowflake/tree-tropper will be included. But, since I have a feeling people will be very curious to know, I’ll try to find out today and amend this post later.

ADDENDUM: Okeley-dokeley. Linda’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 3: December 3 to 7!

Here’s today snow forecast: Read the rest of this entry �

Pictured here is Tony Diterlizzi’s 2004 snowflake for Robert’s Snow: for Cancer’s Cure, entitled “Mr. Spider’s Webby Snowflake.” Neat, huh?

Now, I’ve been featuring ’07 snowflakes lately — those, that is, which have not already or will not be featured by a blogger in this Blogging for a Cure event (remember that the illustrators and snowflakes that participating bloggers are featuring are only the ones that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute had ready to go when this multi-blog event was organized). But, you know, I just looked at the current list of ’07 snowflakes, and all of those illustrators are scheduled to be featured or have already been featured. Those who haven’t been featured or aren’t scheduled to be covered, I wrote brief write-ups for — and featured the snowflakes, of course — here at 7-Imp last week (Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s here; Yuyi Morales’ here; Ashley Bryan’s here; Anna Dewdney’s here; Amiko Hirao’s here; Patrick Girouard’s here; and Lizzy Rockwell’s here). Unless I’m missing someone, we’ve got that list covered! So, until I see new snowflakes up there, I’ll keep showing you some of the wonderful older ones.

And remember that you can see all of the snowflakes at the Robert’s Snow auction site.

Here’s today snow forecast:

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Sunday, October 28 (scroll down after clicking “read the rest of this entry”).

Featured here is Lizzy Rockwell’s snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Snowangels” (*). I didn’t think I was familiar with Lizzy’s work, but then I saw this page at her site, which lists the books she’s illustrated thus far in her career. And, hey, I know and love this one: Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, published back in 1989. What elementary school library doesn’t have that great book in its collection? Here’s part of her bio, straight from her site:

“Lizzy Rockwell is an illustrator whose artwork can be seen in picture books, magazines, games and other children’s products. She studied art at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Lizzy is the illustrator of over 20 children’s books by a variety of authors including her mother, Anne Rockwell. She wrote and illustrated Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition, Hello Baby!, and The Busy Body Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness. Lizzy frequently visits schools to talk to young authors and illustrators about her work.”

Lizzy’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 2 from November 26 to 30.

Reminder that in this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Saturday, October 27 (scroll down after clicking “read the rest of this entry”).

Featured here is Patrick Girouard’s snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Fishmas Tree Topper” (*). I am not familiar with Patrick’s work, so I can’t very well get behind it with a “rah! rah!” or even tell you that I don’t care for it. I have no opinion, as I’ve never seen one of his books. But here’s some info, straight from his web site, if you’re interested in this snowflake (look at that Fishmas Tree!):

“When Patrick was growing up his teachers constantly scolded him for drawing monsters in class. Many years later he illustrated his very first book, Halloween Holiday Grab Bag, and got to put those monsters to good use. In the days since, he has illustrated over seventy books for children. They include More or Less a Mess, Yikes-Lice! (Science Books and Films Best Books), I Have A Weird Brother Who Digested A Fly (Society of School Librarians International Honor Book), and Paul Bunyan. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Sesame Street Magazine, USA Today, Kid City, Spider, Weekly Reader, and Instructor Magazine.”

And here’s his very colorful portfolio. I see, after a bit of research, that he also illustrated Halloween by Alice K. Flanagan (Compass Point Books, 2001). There’s an older title for you — just in time for the upcoming holiday.

Patrick’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 1 from November 19 to 23.

Reminder that in this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Friday, October 26 (scroll down after clicking “read the rest of this entry”).

Featured here is Amiko Hirao’s snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Caravan” (*). I’m not terribly familiar with her work, but you can see some of it here at the artists’ agency, Studio Goodwin Sturges (click on “artists & authors”). And I have seen and enjoyed 2002’s All Aboard! (Little, Brown & Company), illustrated by Hirao and written by Mary Lynn Ray. She also illustrated 2002’s How the Fisherman Tricked the Genie: A Tale Within a Tale Within a Tale (Atheneum) by Christopher “Kitoba” Sunami.

This year, her illu-
strated Tulip at the Bat by children’s poet and author J. Patrick Lewis was released in April by Little, Brown Young Readers, and next year we will see Just What Mama Needs (Harcourt) by Sharlee Glenn.

Again, I’ve only seen All Aboard! (and enjoyed it), but, hey . . . I’m just a messenger right now, trying to get people to buy snowflakes and raise money for cancer research.

Amiko’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 2 from November 26 to 30.

Reminder that in this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Thursday, October 25 (scroll down after clicking “read the rest of this entry”).

Featured here is Anna Dewdney’s snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Llama Llama, and His Mama” (*). Dewdney is the author of Llama Llama Red Pajama (2005, Viking Juvenile), which is loved by many parents of young children who are learning to get themselves to sleep on their own (including Yours Truly. This book is a big hit in our household. And since my husband calls me a Northerner for saying “pajama” with the short “a” sound and not the “o” sound, he likes to chuckle when I have to do otherwise when reading this book aloud. The short “a” pajama doesn’t exactly rhyme with “llama.” But, as usual, I digress). She also wrote Grumpy Gloria last year, which I reviewed here at 7-Imp. And, apparently, a new llama title, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, was just released in September (Viking Juvenile). O yes! Must see. Must see.

Anna’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 1 from November 19 to 23.

Reminder that in this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Wednesday, October 24 (scroll down after clicking “read the rest of this entry”).

Featured here is Ashley Bryan’s snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Snow-All” (*). This snowflake, according to the auction site, was inspired by Bryan’s illustrations from Christmas Gif’: An Anthology of Christmas Poems, Songs, and Stories Written By and About African-Americans, compiled by Charlemae Hill Rollins and originally published in 1963 but re-released by HarperColllins in 1993 with Bryan’s illustrations and a new introduction by Augusta Baker. This snowflake is a “lino block” print (a method of placing permanent designs on surfaces by carving a pattern on a wood or linoleum block, inking it, and transferring it to the material being decorated).

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Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Tuesday, October 23.

Featured here is Yuyi Morales’ snowflake for this year’s auction, entitled “Little Night: See Me Shine” (*). This snowflake is based on one of Yuyi’s new picture books, Little Night (Roaring Brook Press; April 2007), which I raved about back in August here at 7-Imp (the illustrations are beautiful).

We will be featuring Yuyi and some of her illustrations on a Sunday kicks list at the end of November. We can’t wait to see what she sends us. We’re big ‘ol fans.

Yuyi’s snowflake will be auctioned off in Auction 1, which will begin accepting bids on Monday, November 19, at 9:00 a.m. Be sure to place your bid before the close of Auction 1 on Friday, November 23 at 5:00 p.m.

Apparently, you can twist this snowflake and watch Little Night herself glow. Wow. Just wow.

Reminder that in this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature: Read the rest of this entry �

Below is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Monday, October 22.

I’ve decided to stop featuring older snowflakes at these daily-schedule posts (even though it was a delight to do so) and instead feature some of the 2007 snowflakes which were not snagged by a blogger for a feature in this Blogging for a Cure effort. (As a reminder, when I announced in September the call to bloggers to feature the snowflake-making illustrators and their snowy creations, some artists had not yet submitted their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. So, in order to get this Blogging for a Cure effort organized as quickly as possible, I worked off just that first list of illustrators — and bloggers are highlighting illustrators whose snowflakes Dana-Farber had already received at that time. Therefore — and unfortunately — not all the participating artists will be featured).

But I can at least show you some of the other new snowflakes which will not be featured by participating bloggers. Read the rest of this entry �