Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Real cowboys are as many different colors as the earth.”
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You won’t find me writing about magazines … well, ever. Until today. This morning over at Kirkus, I take a look at Illustoria, a promising new children’s magazine with a focus on children’s book authors and illustrators.

That link is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Kate Hoefler’s Real Cowboys (Houghton Mifflin, October 2016), illustrated by Jonathan Bean.

Today, Jonathan shares some process images and final art, as well as some thoughts on creating the illustrations for this book. I’m happy he’s sharing that today, so let’s get right to it.

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“Ma, silence.”
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I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Katrina Goldsaito’s The Sound of Silence (Little, Brown, August 2016), illustrated by Julia Kuo.

The review is here. Below, I’ve got some more spreads from the book. Enjoy!

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I’ve got a newly-graduated illustrator visiting today to share artwork. Shane Cluskey, originally from Ireland, actually graduated in 2005 from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin (so, he’s not exactly newly-graduated), but he’s currently working on his first children’s book, so I thought it’d be fun to showcase his artwork. As I understand it, Shane is currently living in London.

Shane also says a few words below about his work, so let’s get right to it. I thank him for visiting. (To see even more of his artwork, here’s his Instagram page.)

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Over at Kirkus today, I write about the debut picture book from Kate Hoefler, Real Cowboys (Houghton Mifflin), illustrated by Jonathan Bean and on shelves in early October.

That link is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Randy Cecil’s Lucy (Candlewick, August 2016), and I’m following up with some art today.

Enjoy!

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“The beauty of multicultural books is that they open new doors and windows for readers who are outside the culture. They can live, explore, and enjoy other cultures as they read amazing stories. For the majority of children and adults who were born in the United States, an ‘alien’ is indeed someone from outer space, and they do not associate it with immigrants or immigrant status. For me, as a writer of multicultural children’s literature, it is always important to write authentic stories where my readers can learn and discover the immigrant experience and the experience of living in two cultures.”

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Over at Kirkus, I talk to author and teacher René Colato Laínez, pictured here, about his newest picture book, Mamá the Alien/Mamá la extraterrestre, published by Lee & Low last month.

That chat is here.

Until tomorrow …

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Photo of Mr. Laínez used by permission of Lee & Low Books.

 

“There is a ship, a navy ship. It is called the USS New York. It is big like other navy ships, and it sails like other navy ships, but there is something different,
something special about the USS New York.”
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Today here at 7-Imp, I’ve got some art from Janet Nolan’s Seven and a Half Tons of Steel (Peachtree, August 2016), a compelling piece of nonfiction illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez.

This is in follow-up to my BookPage review. So, if you’d like to read all about the book, you can head here for the review, and more spreads are below.

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