Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

My 7-impish plans for today were to post an interview with the talented James E. Ransome, but that will have to be put off till perhaps next week. I look forward to this. I enjoy seeing his illustration work, and—speaking of picture book biographies, which I do below—have you seen Before There Was Mozart: The Story of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George this year? It was written by Lesa Cline-Ransome, who happens to be James’s wife, and was illustrated by James. So, next week I shall bring you an interview with Mr. Ransome, whose colorful artwork will wake you right. up.

Instead, I’m now here today to say that this week at Kirkus I’ll cover three new engaging picture book biographies. The link will be here tomorrow (Friday) morning. And next week at 7-Imp, I’ll showcase some spreads from each picture book. Plus maybe a bit more. We’ll see. I’ve got ideas brewin’ in my head anyway.

Also over at Kirkus tomorrow will be the Qrank quiz I wrote on “Strong Females in Kidlit.” Now, that was fun to write. You can take that quiz, if you’re so inclined, tomorrow at this link.

Last week, I covered DK Publishing’s children’s title on world religions, What Do You Believe? That link is here, if you missed it. Below are some spreads from the book. You can click each to super-size and see up close. (You really have to in order to read the text.)

Enjoy.

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This morning over at Kirkus, I’ll have some thoughts on Slog’s Dad from David Almond and Dave McKean, published in February by Candlewick. And that would be because I am such a fan of Almond’s writing and McKean’s artwork, that I always sit up and take notice when they release anything. (Well, as I understand it, this is only their second collaboration, but still… Bliss.)

In fact, Almond stopped by here in 2008 for an interview, and here is the 2009 McKean interview, quite possibly my favorite 7-Imp interview ever.

The Kirkus link is here this morning.

Last week’s column was a Q & A with author Candace Fleming. If you missed it, it’s here. She discusses the research and writing of her superb biography, Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, published by Schwartz & Wade in February. Below are a couple more images from the book. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

I have only one illustration for you all today, but it’s a whopper of an illustration and positively terrifying, which—-given the book’s subject matter—is a compliment:

Don’t you love that? Wait, there’s a monitor between me and you, so I can’t hear you, but if you love it as much as I, you can always comment below.

This comes from illustrator, painter, and printmaker Sarah Young, who lives in England. It is one of the many arresting illustrations from Greek Myths by Ann Turnbull (also British), published by Candlewick. Now, I had thought this was a brand-new title, but it just so happens that every link I see online, including the book’s very home on the Candlewick site itself, is saying it was released in November of 2010. The copyright info also states 2010. Color me confused. And slightly behind. Could it be that this one got lost in the stacks of books all over my home and I assumed it was slightly newer than it is? Yes, it could be. Either way, it’s a book I like. I happen to have an emerging seven-year-old who is downright obsessed with myths, particularly if they involve monsters and particularly if they’re Greek, and we’ve been enjoying this one. (Shh. Don’t tell on me, given that the suggested age range for this one is “grade 6 and up.”)

What’s particularly effective here is how Turnbull links the stories together. Here’s what she wrote in the book’s intro: Read the rest of this entry �

I have been doing my own writing lately, occasionally feeling a lot like the young girl featured here, and that has made 2010 Busier Than Normal. For that reason, my visitors to the 7-Imp bungalow this morning, authors Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, deserve an award. And that would be because I contacted them a long while ago about their wonderful new handbook on writing for kids, Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook (Roaring Brook, March 2010), told them I loved it, and asked them if they’d like to stop by 7-Imp to talk briefly about it. Sure! they said. LENGTHY TIME INTERLUDE. (All my fault.) Apologies sent to them. EVEN LENGTHIER TIME INTERLUDE. (Still my fault.) Finally, I said to them: I haven’t forgotten, but I’m so swamped. Would you accept an open invitation to say whatever you’d like about the book and I promise to work it up into a nice post? I gave them some basic guiding questions, mind you, but what they returned to me is what you see below. They took some of my questions and adapted them a bit, and then they came up with some questions of their own. Nice.

All of that is to say that, if you like the questions below, Anne and Ellen get big-time credit for essentially interviewing themselves. (And here’s hoping they don’t think I’m the lamest blogger in the history of Blogistan.) Read the rest of this entry �

I’m shining the spotlight on some nonfiction today. In fact, everything’s coming up dinosaurs this morning at 7-Imp, as I’ve invited Lita Judge and Deborah Kogan Ray for a visit. Lita is the author and illustrator of Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World, published by Roaring Brook in April. And Deborah both wrote and illustrated Dinosaur Mountain: Digging Into the Jurassic Age, also published in April (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Both author/illustrators have stopped by to share some spreads, images, and sketches. Let’s check in with Lita first:

Lita: I love dinosaurs! I was crazy about them when I was five. I was even more in love with them when I was fifteen and started working on a dinosaur dig for the Tyrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada. And, as an adult, I’m still wild about them. But, instead of sitting under the blazing sun, digging them up, I like to use my imagination and bring them to life through my pencil and paint.

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This morning, I’m highlighting a nonfiction title from author/illustrator Don Brown, who visited 7-Imp in ‘09. This, his latest title, tells the boyhood story of Thomas Edison, “{c}lever Tom, energetic Tom, brave Tom, hard-working Tom, curious Tom…” A Wizard from the Start: The Incredible Boyhood & Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison, released by Houghton Mifflin early this month, captures the curious, energetic spirit of the young Edison and ultimately takes us to the grown man, who is to have said, even though he brought the world a total of 1,093 patents, “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.” Always engaging, the book is filled with fascinating anecdotes about Edison’s life, and Brown’s watercolors, loose lines, and subtle palette (this one is particularly—and beautifully—light-infused) manage to express so much with such simplicity.

Pictured below are the cover, a couple more spreads, and some early sketches and the book’s thumbnail sketches from Don. I thank Don for sharing his art work this morning. Enjoy.

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Here’s a quick sneak-peek at a picture book coming from Candlewick later this month.

I’ve previously declared here at 7-Imp my deep and abiding love for the work of British author/illustrator, Charlotte Voake. I always get a little hyper when she illustrates a new title. Coming here to the States in a few weeks (first published in the UK, I suppose it was, in ‘09) is Steve Voake’s nonfiction picture book, Insect Detective, illustrated by Charlotte. Evidently, Steve is Charlotte’s cousin. He’s also written some YA titles and is the author of an early-chapter-book series I love, but more on that in a moment.

Pictured here is the book’s beautiful cover… Read the rest of this entry �

You can file this post away in the I Was Remiss to Not Tell You About This in ‘09 category. But sometimes late is better than never.

In October of last year, Roaring Brook released the great Anita Silvey’s Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book: Life Lessons from Notable People from All Walks of Life. In this book, Silvey shares the results of having posed the following question to well-known Americans in a wide range of fields (authors and illustrators, actors, scientists, reading experts, critics, editors, teachers, athletes, politicians, financiers, and much more): What children’s book left a lasting impact on you — and why? Silvey divides the book into six separate sections, based on common themes in her subjects’ responses (some also taken from statements already in print and interviews): Inspiration, Understanding, Principles & Precepts, Vocation, Motivation, and Storytelling.

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I’m pleased to welcome British illustrator Neal Layton to 7-Imp today. As many of you know, lots of blogs in the kidlitosphere like to celebrate nonfiction on Mondays. Now, Neal has written and illustrated some pretty wonderful fiction titles. I love his illustrations for the wonderful That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell (Hyperion, 2007). (Evidently, there is a new Emily Brown sequel in the U.K. Excellent. Guess I’ll have to wait a while for that one.) Oh, and have you read the Mammoth Academy chapter books (published by Henry Holt)? I’ve only read the second, which was released this summer, but it had me and my kindergartener laughing out loud.

But I’m here today to highlight what happens when Neal pairs up with author Nicola Davies. What happens, to be exact, is that they create excellent nonfiction titles for children. Neal’s here to say a few words about them and his work.

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Several weeks ago, I blogged about a few new picture book biographies that made me happy. I was eager then to tell you about the title I’m featuring today, but I wanted to wait a bit to secure some spreads from it to share with you. This is, hands down, one of my favorite picture books from this year, and it seems to have come out of nowhere and surprised me. It’s called The Secret World of Walter Anderson (Candlewick, September 2009), it’s by an author with whom I was not previously familiar, Hester Bass, and it’s about “the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of,” as Bass puts it. The book was illustrated by the one and only E.B. Lewis, whose work I’ve long adored.

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