7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #94: Featuring Karla Gudeon and John Burningham and David Ezra Stein
(and In Which Eisha and Jules Send Season’s Greetings and Such)
December 21st, 2008 by Eisha and Jules
Jules: Welcome to our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week—whether book-related or not—that happened to you. Absolutely anyone is welcome to list kicks, even if (or especially if) you’ve never done so before.
And this week we’re kickin’ it holiday-style as 7-Imp’s greetings of the season and happiest-of-holidays wishes to you. The first image above, since Hanukkah this year begins at sundown today, is from artist Karla Gudeon, whose medium is dry-point engraving, a kind of hand-pulled printmaking (along with watercolor). Karla has stated that she uses “concepts culled from a lifetime of joyous Jewish experiences to create works that evoke warm responses and a familiar sense of shared human experience and common bonds.” The piece of art work opening the post, entitled To Life, as well as the ones pictured below—Sabbath Peace, The Whole Mishpochah (mishpochah being the Hebrew word for “family”), and Repairing the World—are courtesy of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts, owned by poet and children’s book author Richard Michelson.
The second spread above is from John Burningham’s Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present, which I rambled about here in ’06 and here and here last year, that last post celebrating the fact that Candlewick reprinted the title last year, heaven bless ’em, and which is not only my favorite holiday book, but I think it’s one of the best picture books EVER. And I think it’s safe to speak for Eisha, too, when I say that. If you’ve never read it…well, that makes me want to gasp, which I do not out of arrogance or impertinence, but really, I would only be gasping for your own well-being and out of concern, seeing as how there’s a hole in your life you must fix immediately by finding the nearest copy asap and experiencing it. I will even admit: The book is so good it makes me cry every time. It’s not sad, mind you. It’s just that it’s near to burstin’ with joy (and ooh! Such mystery on the final page), which makes me so happy that I cry, and also it’s so perfectly PERFECT and I love sharing it with my own children now. And I think that only John Burningham could have pulled it all off.
Whew, that was my annual Harvey Slumfenburger tribute. I’m done now.
Here are the other beautiful images from Karla Gudeon:
To see more of her art work, visit her site or this page at the site for R. Michelson Galleries.
And, last but not least, illustrator David Ezra Stein, whose work you know I adore (I may have mentioned that, oh, just a few times here at 7-Imp), created this lovely piece of “winter wallpaper”:
By way of that piece of loveliness, we also wish you a happy winter solstice and general greetings of the season. May it be filled with happiness and wonder and light and lots of hot cocoa.
1* I love all the art this week. It’s all great, but I especially love those dancing ladies. I also share Jules’s love for Harvey Slumfenburger. It truly is the best Christmas book ever.
2* The husband and I went on a sort of actual date: we had sushi IN THE RESTAURANT, not take-out, and then we went to see Quantum of Solace. Here’s what I think: I love the new direction that the Bond movies are taking, Daniel Craig is perfectly cast, and the opening credits song is made of unadulterated awesome:
3* This excerpt from the novel Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles made me laugh out loud about fifteen times. Must. Read. This. Book.
4* I had my three-month end-of-probationary-period review at work this week, and it just confirmed what I’d already been feeling – I’m definitely in the right place.
5* Speaking of, we had our holiday party at work, and it turns out there are some incredible bakers amongst my co-workers. I’m still stuffed.
6* I think my Christmas shopping is done. Early. I know, right? Totally unlike me. And it’s made me that much more excited about going home for the holidays.
7* We’ve had lots of lovely snow this past week, and we’ve got even more coming. My poor husband has to go out of town for another design gig, but I’m happily settled in this weekend with my cocoa, my flannel PJs, my books, and lots of presents to wrap. *sigh* I love winter.
And to all our beloved friends… May you all have a Merry Happy Jolly-Good Holiday Season! Be warm, travel safe, and enjoy yourselves!
Many thanks to Candlewick, Richard Michelson, and David Ezra Stein for the great art work today. Here are my kicks:
1). Speaking of John Burningham, as we have been in this post, I did a Web search to see if anyone has ever released a collection of his works or if there’s some sort of book about his art work (since he’s my second favorite illustrator of all time) which is similar to, say, this. I couldn’t find anything, but I did find this. Could it be that in the Spring my wish will come true? Man, I wish I knew more.
2). My girls and I headed into Nashville this week to visit the kickin’ story time they have going in the main branch of the Nashville Public Library. We used to go weekly but hadn’t been in months (you have to be really committed to that drive). One of the rock-star storyteller/performers remembered my girls and asked where we’d been all this time. It was very sweet.
3). While my girls picked out a gift for Eisha at my favorite little store in Nashville, I think I brushed right past Emmylou Harris (I say “think,” because if it wasn’t her, she most certainly has a doppelgänger in this world). I adore her music. She even came into the bakery next door, where we headed after leaving the shop, and stood right in front of me, getting her coffee, and I was STILL too shy to say hi.
4). I’ve been listening to this hysterical holiday essay from David Sedaris. It gets me every time. It’s thanks to Adrienne I first ever heard it. I’m also reading Ann Patchett’s The Magician’s Assistant. So far, it’s quite good . . . My girls and I are also reading Roald Dahl’s BFG this week. My four-year-old already talks a lot like The Big Friendly Giant anyway, what with her redunculous made-up words, so she’s getting a big glumptious, wondercrump, whoopsey-splunkers kick out of that character.
5). NPR’s best-music-of-the-year links (here and here), which I really needed, as I’ve been listening to the same CDs over and over.
6). My husband and I watched “The Last Man on Earth” with Vincent Price, which was the first ever movie adaptation (from back in ’64) of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend — before “The Omega Man” with Chuck and before last year’s adaptation with Will Smith. HA. It was funny in spots — in that old-horror-movie kind of way. Having said that, it was also still successfully creepy.
7). A friend of mine has co-authored a paper entitled “Causation, Prophetic Visions, and the Free Will Question in Harry Potter,” to be published in Reading Harry Potter Again: New Critical Essays, edited by Giselle Liza Anatol (forthcoming from Praeger/Greenwood). This friend of mine would harrass me to no end if he knew that I have a very low tolerance level for complicated discussions of philosophy — or, okay, even rather elementary discussions of philosophy (“I know what I know, if you know what I mean, do do ya,” in the immortal words of Edie Brickell). But I might actually read that.
BONUS: The poem Eisha found for Poetry Friday. Oh, and Stacey Dressen-McQueen’s beautiful art work that I still want to reach out and touch.
My last kick, which is really the best one, is that Christmas is almost here, and let me just say that with a four-year-old and a three-year-old, it’s exponentially more fun. It can be crazy-making, too, but all in all, it’s tremendously exciting. I hope everyone has a great holiday—or, in the words of Raymond Briggs’ scowling, cognac-drinking Father Christmas—“Happy blooming Christmas to you…” (another must-read, I find, during this time of year. So funny.)
What are your kicks this week?
Boring—but very important—copyright info:
HARVEY SLUMFENBURGER’S CHRISTMAS PRESENT. Copyright © 1993 by John Burningham. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.
Karla Gudeon images reproduced with permission of R. Michelson Galleries. All rights reserved.
David Ezra Stein image © 2008 reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.
The artwork this week. I have to order Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present. Looks to irresistable. Karla needs to find her way in to a book deal and Daivd’s pices is so playful.
Eisha, Congrats on making it past the three month review. How great is that? Okay, Quantum of Solace has to be our Christmas Day movie (a tradition to see a movie on Dec. 25)
Jules, I love the Father Christmas books. They are way too much fun.
My kicks:
1. Snow, sort of. It is pretty, and my yard is beautiful. I am ready for regular weather however.
It does not take much to shut the entire city down. Now we are into freezing rain.
2, watching the birds feed at the feeders durng the snow.
3. The crackling fire in the firlplace.
4. Getting two huge photography projects completed for my girls for Christmas.
5. The silence of the snow.
6.I finished A Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
7. Baking a ton of holiday treats.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas.
Wow, very cool artwork — and I must confess to being totally out of the loop, not knowing about Harvey Slumfenburger. But I will remedy that soon!
Congrats, Eisha, on 3 months at work, and knowing you’re in the right place. That’s SO great. And Jules, Emmylou Harris? Eeee!! Lucky you :). Thanks for those NPR links. I need some new music, too. Noted Sam Phillips mentioned, and Dylan was on the list of faves by NPR listeners (his Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 was also #2 best rock album of 2008 by Rolling Stone Magazine).
Jone, you sound all cozied up with the crackling fire, baking, and bird watching. Winter’s here!
My kicks:
1. DH returned home safely from the west coast. I always worry about him flying when there are blizzards raging.
2. Saw Notting Hill for the umpteenth time again last night. I never tire of it, as it reminds me of antiquing in Portobello Road every Saturday.
3. Finished Need by Carrie Jones, a reading departure for me, since I don’t normally do paranormal romance. Tricia generously shared her review copy with me awhile ago.
4. Had a seafood lunch in Old Town, Alexandria yesterday, then browsed some shops. Lots of nice Christmas decorations.
5. Taking some quiet moments to reflect on the holiday, now that shopping, baking, and decorating are done.
6. December Carnival of Children’s Literature at Jen Robinson’s Book Page. An especially varied, rich, big, fabulous bunch of stuff to read!!
7. My 7th kick is 7-Imp! It’s been such a pleasure reading this blog all year long and kicking with you every Sunday, and I’m so looking forward to all the goodies you’ll be serving up in 2009!
Merry merriness everyone, wishing you the best of holidays!
Jone, your snow pics (over at your blog and Facebook) are gorgeous. Glad you’re enjoying it. I hope you and Chuck and your beautiful family have a great holiday.
Jama, glad your husband’s home safely and that you’ve got some pre-holiday quiet time. Oh, and I’ve never seen “Notting Hill,” I don’t think. Will try to fix that…Thanks for kick #7. We thank you right back for being a devoted reader. I’m still always amazed we have readers. Seriously. And such fun and smart ones. …and I thank you for blogging, too, ’cause what would the world be without your Alphabet Soup? It’d be significantly less interesting, that’s what.
I’m off to visit with my brother and his family, who are in town today, for Christmas, so happy day to all and if anyone’s kicks get caught in spam, I’ll try to free them when I get back. Cheerio!
Happy holidays, everyone!
What lovely, festive images.
eisha: Glad that your work is continuing to go so well.
Jules: Encourage that wordsmith! Kudos and congrats to your published friend.
My kicks:
1) Practice
2) Press release
3) Perception
4) Presence
5) Pancakes (seven grain almond granola pancakes, to be precise)
6) Packed
7) Productivity
Thank you for the dancing, happy art work!!!
And Hooray for Harvey Slumfenberger — it’s been an all year round favorite around my house,too.
That “Life” picture makes me want to dance. It’s lovely.
I’m feeling kicky because my daughter came home from college earlier than I expected her to! (She was going to work, but they couldn’t give her enough hours.) So we’ve been shopping and eating sushi and making cupcake/book runs and generally catching up. She brought her sweet little Astrid kitty, too, and it’s fun to watch her explore the house. (Although we have to keep cat from dog and vice versa and since I’m allergic, I have to take daily Claritin. But she’s worth it.)
I’m also having fun attempting a sestina. Poetry puts me in a festive mood. So does peppermint ice cream. And my tiny little tabletop tree—the very last one at Whole Foods, marked down and waiting for me to scoop it up. I have the Robert’s Snow snowflake perched on top of it like a star. I’ll have to take a picture.
Happy beginning of the light, you all!
Love the vibrancy of Karla’s illustrations! And jules, you have a way of making books sound irresistible – i will be getting a copy of Harvey Slumfenberger asap.
Happy Holidays to 7 Imps and all the kickers! You have all been a bright spot i look forward to sharing in every Sunday.
My kicks:
1. SNOW! (pics at my place and more to come. We got 8 inches yesterday.)
2. Catching a repeat of Love, Actually last night. I love, love, love that movie, especially the little boy Sam and his story.”Come on dad, let’s go get our heads bashed in by love.”
3. Getting all the presents mailed to their cross-country destinations well before Christmas.
4. Bringing the christmas tree inside and setting it up. It was a teensy seedling last year, and now it has doubled in size.
5. Venturing out in the snow with the bf in the 4 wheel drive yesterday. We were warm and toasty in the truck, and pdx was quiet and lovely covered in its white blanket.
6. The smell of the gingerbread cookies we are baking.
7. Listening to John Denver and the muppets christmas album.
Happy Holidays everyone! Have a great week!
I’m a John Burningham fan, and you might well gasp that I’ve not read Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas. I’ll do my best to remedy the situation after our local library branch reopens. We got a lot of snow (8 inches? More) last night, but blessed be, the power stayed on and we didn’t get the dramatic windstorms predicted. Oh, and it’s snowing again. I’m thankful for warmth, electricity, shelter and living in the city. I’m thankful for enough food to eat and suitable layers of clothing. I’m so glad that we have proper boots for snow in a city that usually goes bezoomny if we get 2 inches.
jone, your winter weekend sounds even better than mine. Although freezing rain isn’t quite as picturesque, you’ve got a fire! And you can bake! Enjoy.
Jama, ditto to everything jules said about Alphabet Soup – it’s become a necessary food group in my blog diet. Thank you for that!
Little Willow, you alliterative wonder. Those pancakes sound delicious.
elisa, thank YOU for stopping by. Glad to have another member of the Harvey Slumfenburger fan club around.
Aw, Sara, your tree sounds so sweet! Yay for having such a lovely time with your daughter, and her kitty, and ice cream in winter.
rm preston, I absolutely ADORE that movie. And yes, that quote is one of the best parts. YAY for snow, and gingerbread, and John Denver & the Muppets!
Alkelda, sorry, we were commenting at the same time. I’m so glad you guys were all prepared for the snow so you can enjoy it, instead of going bezoomny with the rest of the city.
Eisha, Yay to being in the right place and yay to snow! We are getting more even now. I haven’t had to venture forth much in it, so it’s just seemed lovely, even though there is quite a lot of it.
Jules, I’ve been wanting to watch all the incarnations of I Am Legend/Omega Man/etc., and now I want to EVEN MORE.
Jama, I love Notting Hill.
Little Willow, Seven grain almond granola pancakes sound AWESOME.
Sara, Love peppermint ice cream.
My kicks:
1. We did a couple Christmas storytimes at the library this past week, and it was a nice way to celebrate the holiday with some of our regular storytime groupies.
2. I got a cold, but I was able to kick back and relax, and I’m feeling much better now.
3. For Christmas, a friend got me a USGS map of my hometown from 1897. It is SOOOO COOL. I took it to have it framed yesterday; I can’t wait to get it back.
4. While I was at the poster/frame shop, I also took the Babymouse poster I won at the Kidlitosphere conference to get framed. I’m looking forward to getting that on the wall, too.
5. I finished my Christmas shopping. Whew!
6. Last night was my one friend’s annual holiday party, where I got to catch up with a lot of friends I don’t see too often.
7. Today, I took Lucas so he could do his Christmas shopping for his mom, dad, and brother. It was fun watching him mull everything over, and then we worked together to get everything wrapped and ready. It felt very Christmas-y, especially on this snowy day.
Karla’s art is so rich in color and swirly detail. I especially like The Whole Mishpochah with the naked baby, the black sheep, and those striped socks on the little girl!
Little Willow—Granola pancakes??? How? Do you add granola to the batter? Does the granola keep its crunch? Please, explain. I’m interested.
1. reading portions of The Nutcracker to Joey (3), who is obsessed with the scene of the giant eating Marzipan Palace (http://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-E-T-Hoffmann/dp/051755285X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229892975&sr=8-1)
2. weird dreams
3. orange ginger lip balm from Manor Hall Soap Company
4. making bead ornaments and recycled CD ornaments (and having finished early with prepping a CD ornament craft for three preschool class parties)
5. teaching Samuel (5) about paint
6. skipping a party to let Joey rest at home instead of sending him to spend the night with grandparents
7. Miss Sook from Truman Capote’s short stories “A Christmas Memory” and “The Thanksgiving Visitor”
Lovely artwork again!
Eisha, snow and snuggling in for the weekend sound like lots of fun. Maybe if I wish really hard we’ll get a freak snow storm this winter! And it’s so great you have a job you love.
Jules, thanks for the music list links. I’ve just realised how stuck in a muscial rut I am and have started searching out new music (will be going back through 7 kick posts too as I know lots of recs have come up here)
My very Christmassy list:
1. Various Christmas parties have included a 1920s themed one on Friday night. I liked my costume and made the discovery that in my black bob wig I look like my mum! Amazing what difference a fringe and the colour can make.
2. Other social (Christmas, birthday and engagement!) outings have given me the chance to try mulled wine again (sometimes I like it, other times not), find a great new Indian restaurant and discover I suck at real life bowling (as opposed to Wii bowling)
3. Our potted pine tree is inside and decorated and looks wonderful
4. Christmas cards from family and friends are decorating the shelves and presents are waiting under the tree – it seems even nicer when people have gone to the effort of posting them overseas
5. I have just finished baking dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. I went for the old faithfuls of gingerbread and my chocolate caramello biscuits – shall try that other choccie biscuit recipe from Eisha sometime soon!
6. This one is cheating as it isn’t from the last week, but hurrah for days getting longer once again soon!
7. Even amongst the Christmas busyness, or perhaps because of it, I’ve found time for some relaxing reading, the sort where you read large chunks of a book at a time laying on the couch under a warm throw rug
I’m with Jama in saying the 7 kicks feature has been a highlight of 08! Happy holidays to everyone.
In the spirit of Hanukkah, I’d like to add a kick #8 to my list. The start of Hanukkah reminds me how grateful I am for religious freedom and keeps me mindful that there are many who suffer for their faith. http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1456&Itemid=1
Little Willow, pancakes: Mmm.
Sara, have too much fun with your daughter and Astrid kitty, who still has a fabulous name.
RM, thanks for the 7-Imp love. And do you know that I love John Denver’s music? I really do. I grew up listening to him and still like to hear him. I think he’s so under-rated.
Oh, and I’ve also never seen “Love, Actually.” Gotta fix that. Guess what I’m gonna watch tonight, though? “A Christmas Story,” because, as it turns out, I’ve NEVER seen it all the way through — just bits and pieces over the years. A shame, I know. But I plan to fix that tonight.
Farida, “bezoomny” is a great word. Or absolutely squiffling, as the BFG would say. I’m also thankful for a roof over my head and warm clothes and food, especially since it’s so freakin’ cold outside right now…I mean, there’s cold and then there’s six degrees with a STRONG WIND that makes it worse, and I feel for the roof-less tonight.
Adrienne, I wish you were my neighbor — always — but today it’s so that I could join you in watching all those I Am Legend incarnations. It’s fun. And what great kicks you have this week. What a nice gift your friend gave you. I hope it’s looks even better framed.
Kathe, ooh! ooh! You’ve made me want to get out my copy of Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” — fabulous idea. I love that story and haven’t read it in so long. I know just where it is, too. Thank you. And, you know, I have that copy of The Nutcracker, too, ’cause …. well, it’s Sendak, so it’s necessary, and I keep meaning to read it to my girls, so thanks for that reminder, too.
Emmaco, Jeremy is a great source for new music. He’s left some tips here in the Sunday comments this year….And a 1920s-themed holiday party is a freakin’ BRILLIANT idea, I must say…My husband makes great mulled wine. Mmmm. Enjoy yours….and thanks to you, too, for coming every Sunday. I’ve said before that if you regular folks don’t come and list kicks, I start to worry (as in, Oh no! If they’re not here, does that mean they had a crappy, kick-less week? Is everyone okay? I worry very well. It’s impressive how skilled I am it). Plus, I just miss your kicks, too, when you’re away.
Oh, and for all those who want to read Harvey Slumfenburger, I suppose I should have said it’s from ’93, I believe. But, again, Candlewick released it again last year, thank goodness.
Happy holidays to all…
eisha, Adrienne, Kathe, jules: The pancakes were served to me at a restaurant. They were so delicious. Absolutely delicious. I’d love the recipe. I don’t require a lot of food, so I ordered a short stack, which was two pancakes, then ate one for breakfast and one for lunch. 🙂
Little Willow, teach me how to be this way. I can’t eat pancakes without eating, oh, about fifteen at a time. Okay, so I’m exaggerating…but only just a little. (But then this might be why you’re teeeetiny and I’d like to lose about 20 lbs.)
adrienne, YAY for kicking colds to the curb, and Christmas shopping, and reconnecting with friends at parties, and old maps.
Kathe, I want some orange ginger lip balm. I want it right now. Those are like my favorite scents, and it would be right under my nose all the time if I had some. Also, thanks for the reminder of religious tolerance.
emmaco, that party sounds fabulous – I wanna go to one too. And what a kick to find out you look like your mom! And don’t feel bad – I suck at real bowling too. Those balls are HEAVY. Yay for relaxing reading – I did way too much of that this weekend.
Artwork fabulous this week. (But I’m with jama, I think, in not having known about Harvey Slumpenwhatsit until reading this. Still, I have an excuse: I hadn’t read ANYTHING here until summer. :))
Loved reading everyone’s kicks, as always — and, as always in recent weeks, so sorry I couldn’t add my own yesterday. Here are a few, though:
* Christmas shopping. God help me but I do love it — even if/when I’m not actually buying anything myself. (Somebody needs to write a song called “Jostle Bells.”)
* I think it was RM who mentioned the Muppets Christmas. Somewhere in blogland last week someone posted a YouTube video of John Denver singing the “Twelve Days” song w/the Muppets. Miss Piggy: “Fiiiiive…. GOLDen… rrrrrrrings!” Ha!
* The sugar plums I made for the first time last week actually came out pretty darned good. Even the ones that WEREN’T spiked with orange liqueur.
Eisha, the Jonathan Miles excerpt was hilarious! It reminded me a lot of David Sedaris… and speaking of whom, after an extensive search I have finally found this online: one of the funniest Christmas-themed writings evah. This is a reading of “Season’s Greetings!” by Julia Sweeney. The audio is Act 2 of an episode of This American Life; find it by moving the slider to 14:50 or so, here.
Oh, Jules — congratulations on the “Christmas Story”-watching plan. Like “Christmas Vacation,” an annual classic!
Dunno if 7-Imp will still be going over the next couple weeks but I’ll still be checking in. It’s my absolute #1 impossible find in blogland for me this year!
Aw, thanks, John! And thanks for the link. Can’t wait to hear it ….but tomorrow — when I can laugh loudly and not wake anyone.
Whoa, now I am curious about Christmas Present. I should read that soon. 🙂
Happy Happy Holidays, Jules and Eisha!
I’m really late this week! I ‘ve been so busy food shopping and preparing traditional holiday dishes (pireogis, kielbasa, etc.) that I haven’t had much time to blog. Making pierogis is labor intensive and time-consuming. Today, I’ve got to bake and decorate three cakes.
Jules and Eisha, I just wanted to send along my wish that you and your families have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Same to you, Elaine! Merry Christmas! Send me some pierogis!
[…] critique group. {Quick Editor’s Note: Karla has been featured at 7-Imp previously. See here. I had no idea they were siblings. Pretty cool, huh? Okay. Onwards and upwards then. Back to […]
[…] Burningham’s Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present. You can see a spread from it in this previous 7-Imp […]