Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

If there’s one thing I want my girls to appreciate, as they grow, just about as much as I hope they’ll appreciate art, it’s music. When someone from the Chicago Review Press emailed to ask if I’d be interested in Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz with 21 Activities, I wasn’t so sure. I’ve been way pickier about review copies lately, for different reasons. But it’s the Duke! My interest was piqued, especially since it’s one of those books that a music teacher or music-appreciation instructor would really dig: It includes twenty-one hands-on activities all in the name of engaging students a bit more. Okay, I was sold. I had to see it.

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I finally just finished my library copy of Sonya Hartnett’s The Ghost’s Child, originally published in Australia in 2007, I believe, and published last year in the U.S. by Candlewick. Remember when Sonya stopped by in ’07 and said quite determinedly that she doesn’t like her books to be pinned down when it comes to labels (such as “YA”)? Well, she’s done it again (I see here in The Guardian that Linda Newbery wrote last year in her review, “{e}mphatically, The Ghost’s Child has the quirkiness and the sense of being true to itself that often marks out fiction not written with any particular readership in mind”). This time she’s crafted a contemporary fable of sorts—an ethereal, lilting, poetic one at that—about the very nature (and very complicated nature) of human love. Or it could be a modern-day fairy tale? I dunno; I’m still thinking about it. And there I go, trying to categorize, too. Anyway, I wasn’t so sure about this book at first, though I’m a huge Hartnett fan, but I have to say it suddenly endeared itself to me, invited itself right in and took a seat in my mind, refusing to catch a cab and head home. It made itself some coffee and settled in to stay.

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Hi there. Jules here. And Alice. (Just for fun.)

Well, because I think I might possibly be crazy (not to mention all the free time I had during the holidays), I decided to offer our devoted readers the below post in which 7-Imp looks back at the many talented authors and illustrators who stopped by in 2008 for a chat, many with breakfast in tow. I pulled a quote from each interview, I compiled my favorite Pivot responses from the year into one singular questionnaire, and I pulled a handful of favorite illustrations from the year from the many artists who have stopped by for a visit (or whose publisher sent my favorite spreads from a title after I begged and pleaded). Many thanks are due to all the book-makers who have stopped by to chat with me and Eisha and the publishers who granted 7-Imp permission to share art.

And, yes, do I hear you saying this is the LONGEST POST IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD? Why, it is at that, but it’s oh-so skim-able — and mostly full of wonderful stuff at which to look. Sit back and enjoy. Pick your favorite interview and read a snippet. Find your favorite illustrator and kick back to soak in their skills. Choose your own adventure.

Many thanks to Bruce at wordswimmer, who inspired this post with his own retrospective, “Beacons of Light — 2008,” posted a couple weeks ago. His post is well-worth your time, and it got me thinking about how the mass media will turn Hollywood celebrities who turn to writing (often picture books) into bonafide stars, give them all the attention, etcetera etcetera and I know, I know, everyone likes to complain about that, but really. It happens. But the real literary celebrities are…well, many of who I think are the real rock stars stopped by this year, so take a look.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat with 7-Imp and to share their passions and talent. Here’s to the conversations to come in ’09 . . .

Author David Almond (interviewed May 19, 2008): “I see young people all around the world who are fascinated by books, by stories, by language, and who ask serious and perceptive questions about my work. It encourages me in my belief that young people form a wonderful readership, and that the children’s book world offers writers all kinds of opportunities for exploration and experimentation. Children accept stories in all kinds of forms, often in forms that might be seen by adults as too difficult, too whacky, too strange. I love writing illustrated fiction, for instance. There are very few options for a writer to work in such a form in adult books.”

Author/Illustrator Elisha Cooper (interviewed September 22): “I’d like to take this random opportunity to throw-down and say that if you’re an actor or a celebrity, stay the hell out of our business. It’s a free country, fine. But here’s the deal: you can write children’s books as long as we can star in movies.”

Author/Illustrator Julie Paschkis (interviewed May 14), pictured below: “Every book has something about it that is hard for me -– there is always a moment when I am terrified that I can’t do it or there is some aspect that feels overwhelming. There is usually a turning point where I can turn that fear into creativity -– I can figure out how to approach the problem in a way that is interesting.”

Author Kerry Madden (interviewed May 29) on one thing most people don’t know about her: “Every time I start a book, I am terrified I won’t be able to pull it off.”

Author/Illustrator Mini Grey (interviewed October 8) on one thing most people don’t know about her: “I am programmed to self-destruct if I tell you.”

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Jules: So, Eisha, JUDY BLUME IS HERE! I know you’re as excited as I am that she’s stopped by 7-Imp for a short interview. It really is a kick to be a part of her blog tour, isn’t it? (The previous stops—and one remaining one—on her tour are listed at the bottom of this post for those who want to read further.)

And that would be because she was such an integral part of my childhood and the childhood of many readers our age(ish). Her engaging writing—which addressed questions we had about life and love and relationships in an honest and open manner—as well as her willingness to tackle matters in children’s lit deemed taboo by many other authors have made her not just a luminary of children’s literature, but also a household name. (To have your books be so entrenched into popular culture that they can be the subject of a Saturday Night Live skit goes a long way toward illustrating that latter point. This happened just this past weekend in “The Lost Works of Judy Blume” with guest host John Malkovich. If any of our readers missed it, have a similarly warped sense of humor, and want to see it, it’s posted here.)

Judy’s written over twenty-five novels for children and teens, and her book sales have exceeded approximately seven SKERJILLION. (Just slight hyperbole there. Her Wikipedia entry says 80 million.) She also has been awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; has been selected by the American Library Association for its Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to young adult literature; and has received the Library of Congress Living Legends award in the “Writers and Artists” category for her significant contributions to America’s cultural heritage. Impressive, to say the very least.

But, really, she’s just so…well, so flippin’ cool as the trailblazing, pioneering author she’s been over the years. She’s written books that have stayed with readers like us for most of our lives. As I’ve written before here at 7-Imp, she possesses a spot-on ability to nail the embarrassments, tensions, worries, headaches, and even joys of growing up and, in particular, sibling relationships — and with humor and sensitivity. And she’s still writing great books.

For those reasons, I’m humbled and flattered and even nervous that she’s here today. Does that make sense, Eisha, or do I sound like the total goober fan that I am? Read the rest of this entry �

School Library Journal has used words such as “inspired” and “powerful” to describe this book; Publishers Weekly called it “provocative,” adding that it “makes the invaluable point that history does not have to be remote or abstract, but a personal and ongoing engagement”; and both Kirkus Reviews and September’s Notes from the Horn Book have called it a “sumptuous” volume. What I’m talking about is Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (published by Candlewick in September 2008), in which over one hundred contemporary writers and artists use everything from stories to poems to essays to personal accounts to presidential letters to speeches to comics to historical records and more to show us, as Gregory Maguire puts it in the opening entry, that “{t}here are as many views, looking in and out of the White House windows, as there are eyes to look.” At almost 250 pages, it was conceived and co-created by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance, a not-for-profit literary organization founded in 1997 and composed of award-winning children’s authors and illustrators, and evidently was eight years in the making.

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I really want this post to be my thoughts on M.T. Anderson’s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves, which is being released tomorrow, the 14th. But, nooooo, I’m a slow reader these days, what with a busier schedule, and I’m still re-reading Octavian I so that I can be fully prepared for Octavian II. It’s just taking longer than I thought, as in I HARDLY deserve this ARC I’ve had since, whew, June or something. I believe Eisha’s read the sequel, and—once I’m done—perhaps we can co-review, just as we did the first one (back in our newborn days of blogging. I mean, wow, that’s kinda old. We weren’t even sitting up then and we probably still had those weird fontanelles on our heads).

But the least I can do is remind those fans of the prequel that the second book is released tomorrow, not something I normally announce, but I’m excited about reading this one. If you finish it before I do, what with my snail-paced reading rate of late—or have already read it—then do come and tell us what you think. We’d love that.

In the meantime, you have two things to tide you over: Our March ’07 interview with Anderson, which remains one of my favorites, which is one of the first author interviews we ever did, and in which he’s holding my disembodied head AND you have this recent video of him talking very briefly about the sequel. Many thanks to Adrienne for that video link.

There are also these early (online) reviews — just a handful of many, I’m sure:

• Marvin Hoffman in The Houston Chronicle (Chron.com); October 10, ’08;
• The Horn Book’s September/October ’08 issue
• Sarah Stevenson at Guys Lit Wire; September ’08
• The Picnic Basket; August 12, ’08
• Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!; April 2008

There’s also this link. Before anyone screams at me for it being the link to a huge bookchain and not an independent bookstore, please note it has four reviews from KLIATT, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus — as well as an older audio interview (approximately thirty minutes) with the author.

It’s my turn this month over at Guys Lit Wire. I’m over there today, weighing in on The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth by Charles R. Smith, Jr. and illustrated by P. Craig Russell.

The Mighty 12 was released this past Spring by Little, Brown and Company and casts the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology, as you can tell by the cover here, as not unlike the (usually) young, beautiful, scantily-clad superheroes of the comics, ripped bods and all. Over at the post this morning, I’ve got my thoughts on the book, a link to Kelly Fineman’s recent interview with Smith, and a link to the spot on his site in which you can hear him read some of the poems.

If you’re so inclined, here’s the link. So, go read — and discover the wisdom of a “well-placed eagle’s wing.”

Elisha Cooper may say below that he’s not so sweet—and doesn’t necessarily believe children’s books should be either—but he was a joy to interview for many reasons, not the least of which being Eisha and I have always been fans of his picture books. To be sure, he’s written books for the non-child set as well (though I think Eisha and I would both argue his picture books are, indeed, for all ages), including his memoir of parenthood, Crawling (Pantheon, 2006), which the Chicago Tribune called “hilarious and beautiful” and The New York Times described as “bravely honest”; 1995’s “Valentine to the city” of New York, A Year in New York (City & Company, 1995) as well as California: A Sketchbook (Chronicle Books, 2000) and 1996’s cross-country road trip, Off the Road (Villard Books/Random House, 1996); and the personal essays he’s written for publications such as The Morning News (“The Dream Vacation” and “The Bear”), Runner’s World (“Running with Purpose”), and Publishers Weekly (his recent “About the Author,” in which he discusses the agonies of writing one’s own back-flap bio).

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A fabulous conversation with Walter Dean Myers—and his work with teens—at NPR this morning:

“The kids were writing such negative stuff about themselves that I began to collect photographs to show how beautiful they actually were,” he says. “I used the photographs in a number of different books.”

Myers also looks back to when he was a young man in Harlem who knew he wanted to write — and meeting Langston Hughes for the first time. Having studied only white, British writers in schools, he tells NPR’s Juan Williams, “He didn’t look to me like a writer because he wasn’t white.” …It’s a great piece. Enjoy.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog-reading.

Can I just tell you that there are so many books I want to talk about, but my increased work-load, as we’ve already covered, is keeping me from that right now? But no worries. ‘Cause, while I get my act together, you have things like this to read over at good blogs like this.

Yes, it’s the one and the only TadMack—a.k.a. Tanita Davis, author by day, blogger by night (or is it the other way around?), and always-champion-of-YA-books—interviewed over at Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup. That Jama knows how to do her interviews, and it opens with the loveliest photo of Tanita that you just have to see. Jama posted this on Monday, I think it was, and I sat my wee girls down with some watercolors and paintbrushes and told ’em to go crazy — just so I could read that interview without interruption. I didn’t even turn my head away from the computer monitor as they painted the kitchen table.

So, go see. It’ll be worth your time, I promise. Plus, you’ll learn all about Tanita’s hidden talents and secret crushes. Enjoy!