Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
I read just this morning about a well-reviewed book about sex, aimed at children and written by a sex educator, causing all kinds of controversy at a Massachusetts school. To be clear, I haven’t read that particular book, but generally speaking these kinds of stories bum me out. Children deserve, for many reasons, straight-up talk about their changing bodies, sex, and gender identity, and at least here in the South, I find that many adults would just like to pretend students don’t have curiosity about these things all. (What passes for sex education here is pretty dismal.)

That’s one reason I was happy to read Tell Me: What Children Really Want to Know about Bodies, Sex and Emotions (Gecko), a German import (originally published in 2014 and translated by Shelley Tanaka) now on shelves here in the U.S. It is written by Katharina von der Gathen and illustrated by Anke Kuhl. And it is a breath of fresh air. Read the rest of this entry �

(Click image to enlarge)

 
Above is a peek into author-illustrator Selina Alko’s sketchbook as she was working on her newest picture book, Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell (Harper, February 2020).

I reviewed this one for BookPage — that review is here, if you’d like to read about the book — and below are more peeks into Selina’s sketchbook, a look at some early sketches, and a couple of final spreads from the book. I thank Selina for sharing.

Read the rest of this entry �

“Her poems soothed her sadness. Gave her strength. Set her free. With the power of her words — and the freedom of her imagination — she tasted spices in foreign lands, and hid inside a flower. She leaned against the sun, dwelt in the house of possibilities,
and rode a carriage to the ends of time.”

 
I’ve a review over at BookPage of Jennifer Berne’s On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson (Chronicle, February 2020), illustrated by Becca Stadtlander.

That review is here, and pictured below is a bit more art from the book.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry �

It’s the first Sunday of the month (happy March!), which means it’s time to feature a student or debut illustrator here at 7-Imp. Today, I welcome Hanna Cha, whose debut picture book — Tiny Feet Between the Mountains (Simon & Schuster) — was released last Fall. (Pictured above is the book’s title page illustration.)

Read the rest of this entry �