Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I’ve been wondering a lot lately about the rampant popularity of picture books about bullying. Is the world really a meaner place that it was, say, thirty years ago, especially in the realm of childhood? I don’t know. Surely, people can be cruel, but are these instances of violence and bullying just more televised than they were in the past? It’s a big question that needs more than one cup of coffee (which is all I’ve had thus far today) for pondering further.

Either way, I’d hate to see today’s featured picture book, Ben Rides On (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook), merely get lumped into the category of Books About Bullies, if only because then people might tend to disregard it. This isn’t a picture book trying desperately to force its way into a publishing trend. It’s a genuinely poignant, yet never saccharine-sweet, tale about kindness — one that Kirkus in their starred review calls “[g]reat amusement for the bold and timid alike.” And it comes to readers by way of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Davies. This is his first children’s book, and I believe it’s scheduled to be released next week.

Read the rest of this entry �

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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 �

“There once was a good little cat named Matilda …
and a naughty little cat named Hans. They were SO diffferent!”
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This morning at Kirkus, I write about Cecil Castellucci’s and Sara Varon’s Odd Duck, because we should all celebrate our inner (and outer) super freak — as well as, for that matter, the introverts of the world. That link is here, and next week Cecil and Sara will visit to chat.

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Last week at Kirkus, if you missed it and are so inclined to read it, I had this on my mind and wrote about it, partially prompted by a picture book from Japanese author/illustrator Yoko Shima, who goes by Yokococo, called Matilda and Hans: Selma G. Lanes once wrote, “If you would truly teach young children through the books they listen to or read themselves, give them a hero who is an unregenerately bad example, a rotter through and through.”

Matilda and Hans was originally published in 2012, but this is the first U.S. edition. Above is a spread from the book.

Till Sunday …

MATILDA AND HANS. Copyright © 2012 by Yokococo Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

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“Now Satchel was up. … And when the pitch came in, he smacked it toward Bartell at short. He fumbled it, then fired to first. Satchel beat the throw and Brooks scored.
Or so Satch thought.”
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Last week at Kirkus, I chatted with author Robert Skead and illustrator Floyd Cooper about Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio, released by Carolrhoda Books in April.

I also reviewed Mo Willems’ new book at BookPage.

So, for both books (and given this post’s title), I’ve got some illustrations to share today.

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

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“and wait . . .”
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Pictured directly above is the illustration, as I mentioned in my BookPage review, in Julie Fogliano’s if you want to see a whale (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press), illustrated by Erin E. Stead, that took my breath away when I turned the page and first saw it. You should do yourself a favor today, if you’ll allow me to make the suggestion, and click on that image to embiggen it. And just soak it in for a while. Boy howdy and howdy boy, do I love that spread.

Above that are some images that show how Erin Stead got from point A (or somewhere near it) to point B.

Last week, I linked here at 7-Imp to my BookPage review of this book, and I thought it’d be fun to follow up here at 7-Imp with some art from the book. Then Erin sent some sketches, too, and some images of what her process was like in creating these beautiful illustrations (linoleum blocks and pencil, as you’ll read below). I thank her for taking the time to share.

She sent these just yesterday, and I thought I’d post them soon; given a busier-than-normal schedule this week, I figured I’d be lucky to post them this week at all. But I just read that today is the book’s big release day, so I decided to drop what I was doing and post this now. (You might think, if I didn’t admit these things, I were actually organized.)

If you read my review, you know I love this book. It’s a whisper to a friend, a book you should step away from a busy schedule to read and savor, and a beautiful thing to share with a child.

Here’s Erin … Read the rest of this entry �

I’m not really yelling at you, dear Imp readers. You don’t have to put that liquor-filled chocolate down. That post title is really the name of a new picture book.

I don’t have an interview for you all today. (I tend to post “breakfast” interviews on Mondays or Tuesdays, don’t I? This just occurred to me. If I were blog-organized, I would have noticed this sooner.) Nor do I have any super special, behind-the-scenes sketches or such — or any authors or illustrators visiting. Instead, I’ve been busy the last few weeks prepping for a grad picture book course I’ll be teaching this summer (though I do have several interviews, squirming and wiggling and waiting to be posted).

But for today I do have a straight-up review, which I wrote for BookPage. It’s a review of Mo Willems’ new book, That is NOT a Good Idea! It is a good idea to read this book, though, because I enjoyed it. My thoughts are here, if you’re so inclined to read them.

I hope to have spreads from the book to show you later here at 7-Imp.

See you soon. …

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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 �

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“‘Maybe we should collect something,’ said Bink.”
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Selma G. Lanes once wrote, “If you would truly teach young children through the books they listen to or read themselves, give them a hero who is an unregenerately bad example, a rotter through and through.” At Kirkus today, I’ve got some thoughts on this, partially prompted by a picture book from Japanese author/illustrator Yoko Shima, who goes by Yokococo, called Matilda and Hans. That link is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about three new sequels (of sorts) that won’t let you down. They include (as pictured above) Ole Könnecke’s Anton and the Battle (Gecko Press, January 2013); Bink & Gollie: Best Friends Forever by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile (Candlewick, April 2013); and Marilyn Singer’s Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems (Dial, February 2013), illustrated by Josée Masse.

Below, I’ve got a bit more art from Anton and the Battle, as well as Follow Follow. Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

Next week, Neal Porter/Roaring Brook will release the latest picture book from Julie Fogliano, if you want to see a whale, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. I’ve got a review over at BookPage, if you’re so inclined to read my thoughts. That is here. I hope to follow up here at 7-Imp in the near future with some art from the book.

Did you know Fogliano is the 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award winner? Here is an interview with her over at their site.

Today at Kirkus, I’m chatting with author Robert Skead and illustrator Floyd Cooper about Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio, released by Carolrhoda Books in April. That conversation is here. Next week here in 7-Imp Land, I’ll have some spreads from the book.

Until tomorrow …