Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Well, author-illustrator Brian Biggs and I chatted before election results about his new series, and I thought the election would turn out very differently. But right about now I’m all for his vision of communities working together to make good things.

We talk about the series, Tinyville Town, at Kirkus today. That is here. Next week, I’ll follow up with some art here at 7-Imp.

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Photo of Brian Biggs by Sacha Adorno and used by his permission.

 
I admit I’m pretty choosy when it comes to handing the 7-Imp keyboard over to someone, but when I had the opportunity to hand it over to Susan Rich, Editor-at-Large for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, I knew the answer was yes.

In honor of Picture Book Month, Susan is here to explore the mechanics of picture books — in more ways than one. I really enjoy what she has to say, and it all comes with art from Sophie Blackall, Frank Viva, and Christoph Niemann.

I thank her for temporarily taking over, while I fret over election results. Let’s get to it.

(Pictured here is an illustration from an upcoming book she has edited, illustrated by Niemann. More on that below.)

 

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, dear Imps, which means featuring the work of a student or debut illustrator. Today Aram Kim visits, and it’s great to see her here, especially since she has come kickin’ with us before on previous occasions.

Aram’s new book is out (from Holiday House), but I’ll let her tell you about it below — and why she loves doing what she does. I thank her for visiting.

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“In the murk . . . an eye!”
— From Candace Fleming’s Giant Squid, illustrated by Eric Rohmann
(Click to enlarge spread)

 


“If you lean close you might hear Sophie say, ‘Oh.’ And eventually you might hear her say, ‘There!’ ‘Good,’ says Grandpa. ‘Thanks, honey.'”
— From Richard Jackson’s In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
(Click to enlarge)

 


“Now all the animals wondered what had become of Mr. Bobbin. …”
— From Roger Duvoisin’s The Happy Hunter
(Click to see spread in its entirety)

 


“At age twenty, Antonio came to Canada by boat. He was HUGE and very, very strong. He was six foot three.”
— From Elise Gravel’s The Great Antonio
(Click to enlarge)

 


“I take my stuff to my room, dump my papers out of my backpack, and that’s when I see it: The zipper that was closed is open, just enough.
And the money that was there is gone. …”
— From Maribeth Boelts’ A Bike Like Sergio’s,
illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
(Click to enlarge)

 

This morning over at Kirkus, I’ve got a small handful of new picture books about refugees. That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Candace Fleming’s Giant Squid, illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, September 2016); Elise Gravel’s The Great Antonio (TOON Books, October 2016); the reprint of Roger Duvoisin’s The Happy Hunter (Enchanted Lion, October 2016); Maribeth Boelts’s A Bike Like Sergio’s, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones (Candlewick, October 2016); and Richard Jackson’s In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, September 2016).

I’ve got some art from each book today, and Eric Rohmann also shares some preliminary images (one even going as far back as childhood).

Enjoy!

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(Click to enlarge)

 
Last week over at Kirkus, I chatted here with David Jacboson about Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko, illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri and translated by Jacobson, Sally Ito, and Michiko Tsuboi (Chin Music Press, September 2016).

Since I always like to follow up these conversations with art, pictured here today are some illustrations from the book.

Enjoy.
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I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Carson Ellis’s newest picture book, Du Iz Tak? (Candlewick, October 2016).

The review is here, and today Carson shares some preliminary images from book. I’ve got a bit of final art as well. Pictured above is an early character study.

Enjoy!

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