Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Early sketch

Final spread: “Each bunny had one cupcake. Buddy had five. There were four cupcakes left. Buddy ate them. ‘Ugh, I’m so full. Would you bunnies mind if
I ate you tomorrow?’ ‘Nice meeting you, Buddy!’ said the bunnies.”
(Click to enlarge)

I know, I know. Bob Shea visited 7-Imp back in June and shared some art from the very wonderful Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, and he even gave me and my Imp readers a sneak peek at the book I’m talking about today, which is called Buddy and the Bunnies In: Don’t Play With Your Food! But since I like Buddy and the Bunnies a lot, since it’s finally out, and since I like Bob’s smart books, I’m posting some more. Oh, and I wrote a review of it for BookPage and have to follow that up with some art or it just won’t be the same.

So, here’s the BookPage review, for those who are inclined to read it.

And below are some sketches and final art from Bob. I thank him for sharing. I love seeing these sketches (in particular): It’s the evolution of a monster!

Enjoy. Read the rest of this entry �

“Basant is the most exciting day of the year! With feasts and music and parties,
people celebrate the arrival of spring. And many will make their way to the rooftops of Lahore to test their skills in kite-flying battles.”
(Click to enlarge)

Poetry. Poetry. Poetry. That’s my focus (along with picture books, as always) over at Kirkus this morning. That link is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote about Rukhsana Khan’s King for a Day (Lee & Low, 2013), illustrated by Christiane Krömer. That link is here, and today I follow up with some of the beautiful collages from the book (one above and a couple more below).

Enjoy. (Did I mention they’re beautiful? You gotta click-to-embiggen these spreads and take in the details. I’m countin’ on you.)

Read the rest of this entry �

“I feel books in general—and children’s books, in particular—should not only reflect a child’s experience, but also open other children to new worlds and perspectives. I believe we will ultimately create a more loving and humane world when we continue to expose our children at an early age to the experiences of others that may be different from them, while at the same time affirming those children who are experiencing difficult childhoods.”

* * *

Hear, hear.

Over at Kirkus this morning, I chat with actor, singer and writer Daniel Beaty about KNOCK KNOCK: My Dad’s Dream for Me (Little, Brown), illustrated by Bryan Collier and released at the tail end of last year.

That is here.

Next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll have some of Bryan’s art from the book.

Until tomorrow …

* * * * * * *

Photo of Mr. Beaty used with permission of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

 
Hi, dear Imps. Is everyone staying warm? I hope so.

Want to see some art that might warm you up? Over at BookPage, I’ve got a review of Amy Gibson’s Catching Kisses, illustrated by Maria van Lieshout and released by Feiwel and Friends on the very last day of last year.

That review is here, but I also asked Maria if she’d like to share some art from it, so I have that here today at 7-Imp.

And … since Maria has written and illustrated a second Hopper and Wilson book—Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star, coming in April from Philomel—I asked if she could possibly share some spreads from that, too. (There are Hopper and Wilson, up left there, getting their plane ready for takeoff.) Do you remember 2011’s Hopper and Wilson, which I posted about here? (Now it’s evidently available in board book format, too.) Well, they’re back, and I’ve got an F&G of the book. This time the two best friends head way (and I mean, way) out to grab a star for a night-light (or a “lantern for nighttime adventures”). I won’t give the whole story away and ruin your reading adventures, but once they get near to a star they’d like to snag for their own, Wilson manages to get lost and in the end, when he’s found his friend, they decide to leave the star right where it is. Best let Mother Nature be, after all. (Plus, who needs a ginormous, burning ball of gas when you have Hopper? That’s what I say anyway.)

Maria created the art for Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star with watercolors, ink, collage, colored pencil, crayons, a bit of acrylics, and “some technology to pull it all together.” The art for Catching Kisses is evidently all Adobe Illustrator, and again, you can read my thoughts on that book at the BookPage review.

Maria even sent along (without me asking) my favorite spread from Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star — the nearly pitch-black one below, which constitutes Wilson’s darkest moment. I remember sometimes feeling like that as a child, especially if I thought of the vastness of outer space.

Enjoy the art. Read the rest of this entry �

Happy 2014, one and all!

It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I invite a student or newly-graduated illustrator to visit 7-Imp and share artwork. Today, I welcome Tracy Subisak, who is (as noted at her site) a “goofy Midwestern girl living in the great Northwest.”

She’s here to share art, as well as tell us a bit about her work, so let’s get right to it …

Read the rest of this entry �

(Click image to see spread in its entirety)

 
Today at Kirkus, I write about Rukhsana Khan’s King for a Day, illustrated by Christiane Krömer. That link is here.

* * *

Last week at Kirkus, I wrote here about Katherine Paterson’s Giving Thanks: Poems, Prayers, and Praise Songs of Thanksgiving (Chronicle Books, October 2013), illustrated by Pamela Dalton. Today I’ve got some spreads from the book for those of you who want to see some of the poetry and prose inside, as well as Dalton’s intricate Scherenschnitte.

Enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry �

“Look for colors. Is it time? Are they ripe? Scan up. Scan down. Paw and claw and pull. Find … huckleberries. Rake them with your teeth. Purple your snout.”

 
Last week over at Kirkus, I chatted with author April Pulley Sayre about her newest picture book, Eat Like a Bear (Henry Holt, October 2013), illustrated by Steve Jenkins. What a good book it is, and I really enjoyed hearing April’s thoughts on the writing of it. That Q & A is here.

Today I’m following up with some art from the book (without the text in the spreads), as well as some sketches from Steve.

[Please note: Some of the colors in these spreads are slightly off, as they appear here online.]

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry �