Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
Because my family and I moved to a new house in the middle of this year and since moving is so time-consuming, it left a huge dent in my 2016 novel-reading. I’m trying to get caught up now on what I’ve read are some of the best middle-grade and YA novels of the year. However, one book I did read-aloud to my children, even in the midst of our move, was Adam Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (Dutton, September 2016), illuminated by Hatem Aly. And we all three enjoyed this tale of . . . well, I like best how it’s described at the New York Times, Soman Chainani calling it “equal parts swashbuckling epic, medieval morality play, religious polemic and bawdy burlesque.”

As you read above, the book is illuminated. That’s right. Illuminated, as medieval texts are. These images are from Hatem Aly, who visits 7-Imp today to share sketches and images and talk about this book. As Gidwitz says in the book’s opening: Read the rest of this entry �

“With the axe, they smashed the carriage wheels.”
— From The Three Robbers, originally published in German in 1963
(Click to enlarge)

 
After it arrived in my mailbox, I may have walked around my living room hugging the book I’m featuring in today’s post. I did. I hugged it hard.

But it’s that good. It is Tomi Ungerer: A Treasury of 8 Books, released last month from Phaidon Press. Included here, as the title tells you, are eight of his previously-released picture books, nestled inside a slipcase, including three well-known titles (The Three Robbers, Moon Man, and Otto); Fog Island, released as recently as 2013 (originally released in 2012 in Germany); and what the publisher calls “lost gems,” which includes some stories being published in this collection for the first time in 50 years — Zeralda’s Ogre, Flix, The Hat, and Emile. All of the stories in this tall collection, which range in publication from 1963 (The Three Robbers) to 2012 (Fog Island), are gloriously reproduced here. Read the rest of this entry �

 
This morning over at Kirkus, I’ve got a picture book about family and friends (and one magic girl) gathering around the table to give thanks — and I bet politics never once comes up. That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Emily Dickinson (MoonDance Press, December 2016), edited by Susan Snively and illustrated by Christine Davenier. Here at 7-Imp today are some illustrations from the book.

Enjoy!

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“I long ago stopped thinking of progress as a straight line. In some ways science was more open to women before the twentieth century, when it had a less practical bent and was seen as a way to worship God’s world. Of course, women were still excluded from professions, by law more than the sorts of bullying we sadly see now, but loving parents fostered the talents of daughters even when they weren’t sure that they could pursue cherished work beyond the home.”

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One thing I’m grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day is my Kirkus chat with Jeannine Atkins. We discuss her new novel in verse, Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science (Atheneum, August 2016).

That Q&A is here today.

I hope you’re seated around a table with those you love and feeling grateful.

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Photo of Jeannine taken by Peter Laird and used by her permission.

 
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Mo Willems’ Nanette’s Baguette (Hyperion, October 2016). That review is here, and pictured here at 7-Imp today are some illustrations from the book.

I may have, once or twice, reacted over bread this way myself, because … mmm. Bread.

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“The racing pigeons usually returned just before supper. And they always discussed wind directions and flight paths. Or waypoints. Gary loved hearing about their adventures. He would perch nearby and record everything in his scrapbook.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Leila Rudge’s Gary (Candlewick, November 2016). That review is here, and below I’ve got another spread from the book.

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Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got Emily Dickinson, the first title in the new Poetry for Kids series from MoonDance Press. That is here.

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Last week, I chatted here with Brian Biggs about his Tinyville Town series. Below are some sketches, as well as some final art from the series. I thank Brian for sharing.

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“‘Do not be worried,’ said the old man of the dog timidly.
‘Does she bark?’ asked Lizzie with worry anyway.
‘Not at all little children,’ said the old man.”

 
I’ve got a BookPage review of Tony Johnston’s A Small Thing … but Big (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, October 2016), illustrated by Hadley Hooper. That review is here, and today I’ve got some illustrations from the book.

Enjoy.

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“… as we slumber unknowing …”
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I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Joyce Sidman’s Before Morning (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2016), illustrated by Beth Krommes. That review is here, and today I’ve got some spreads from the book, as well as some preliminary images from Beth. I thank her for sharing.

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“I dream / I am with my mom /
I dream I am with my dad. …”
— From Jorge Argueta’s Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds,
illustrated by Alfonso Ruano
(Click to enlarge)

 

“What if I were in a place that no one knew about? …”
— From Constance Ørbeck-Nilssen’s Why Am I Here?, illustrated by Akin Duzakin
(Click to enlarge spread and see text)

 

“… he continued his search for a speck on the horizon.”
— From Rebecca Young’s Teacup, illustrated by Matt Ottley
(Click to enlarge)

 

This week’s Kirkus column is what happens when you have a deadline on the very day when you’re slumped over your keyboard in despair over a decision your country has made. That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about some brand-new picture books about refugees — Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds (Groundwood, October 2016), written by Jorge Argueta and illustrated by Alfonso Ruano; Rebecca Young’s Teacup (Dial, October 2016), illustrated by Matt Ottley; Constance Ørbeck-Nilssen’s Why Am I Here?, illustrated by Akin Duzakin (Eerdmans, October 2016); and Margriet Ruurs’ Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey, illustrated by Nizar Ali Badr (Orca, October 2016).

I’ve got some art from each book below. I regret that I have none to share from Ruurs’ book, but I encourage you to go read here or here about Nizar Ali Badr’s work.

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