Tuesday, December 7th, 2021
One of my favorite nonfiction picture books in recent years is Isabel Thomas’s Moth: An Evolution Story, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus and published in 2019. I’m so pleased to see that these two have collaborated on a new book. This one is called Fox: A Circle of Life Story (Bloomsbury, November 2021), and it is a remarkably eloquent book about life, death, and what happens after death.
Sunday, December 5th, 2021
I think that the smartest way I can tell you about Tricia Elam Walker’s Dream Street (Anne Schwartz Books, November 2021), illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is to suggest you read Dr. Michelle Martin’s review of it at the Horn Book, because she does such an eloquent job of describing it (“a stunning work of art that dismantles stereotypes about Black communities and portrays a place where love abounds”). The book, as another review notes, is more like a string of character studies than it is a story. It captures the lives, brief histories (in some instances), and aspirations of the members of the community on Dream Street, “the best street in the world!” Evidently, it’s based on the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston where the author and illustrator grew up together as cousins. There is even a spread featuring two young girls, one drawing and one writing: “The cousins dreams that someday they’ll create a picture book together about everyone they know and meet on Dream Street.”
Friday, December 3rd, 2021
Here’s one of my favorite books from this year — Make Meatballs Sing: The Life & Art of Corita Kent, written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Kara Kramer. If you have missed it, by chance, Emmie Stuart writes about it today over at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott, so you can read more there. Here is that link.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 2nd, 2021
It’s a pleasure to welcome author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier to 7-Imp today. He visits to discuss and share images (both preliminary images and final art) from his most recent books, all published this year.
