7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #192: Featuring Suzy Lee
(Again — Hey, I’m a Huge Fan)
November 7th, 2010 by jules
It’s the first Sunday of the month, when I normally bring my readers an introduction to a student illustrator or someone otherwise new to children’s book illustration, but I’m breaking the rules today. And that would be because my favorite “best of” list of the whole year, no matter what year, came out this week — the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books list. Here’s the wonderful (very short) round-up for 2010. Ten titles from thousands published during the year that three esteemed judges (including my writing partner-in-crime this year, Betsy Bird) deem the best in illustration. Since I’ve covered quite a few of those books here at the blog this year—and since I only cover what I really like—it may not come as a surprise that I give seven enthusiastic thumbs-ups to the list. Er, I would if, I had seven thumbs, that is.
Now, y’all know I’m a Suzy Lee fan something fierce (as evidenced by this ’08 interview, this post, this post, this post, this post, and … shoot, I give up looking, but there are probably more). You will see on the NYT list that her newest title, Shadow, is on there. I’ve had this book a while and have been marvelling over it. Just when I thought I couldn’t like her work anymore, she up and does a book like this. I finally got around to requesting some spreads from it, just in time for this list’s release. So, that’s what I’m celebrating today — instead of what I normally do the first Sunday of each month. I’m breakin’ the law.
Shadow (Chronicle Books, September) is a wonder and is Suzy Lee at her best. It’s another wordless title, this time of a very imaginative young girl playing with the shadows cast from one little light bulb of an attic. The entire story is depicted in only two shades of color — the yellow and black you see in the cover above and the spreads below. A book that is horizontally-oriented, the reader sees the attic up top and the girl’s imaginative wonders at the bottom (which means you can flip the book any time and read it the other way) — until, that is, the two worlds unite (just as they do in her May release, Mirror, which I covered here). And, just as with her other titles, there is great mystery, fear, and joy conveyed through the story, Lee showing us what a master illustrator can do with bold color, line, shape, and movement with her charcoals (and pencil and watercolor and spray paint and computer).
The girl in the story begins her imaginative play by making a bird shadow with her hands. As she really gets into her own game, an old boot becomes a wolf (perhaps a fox?), the hose becomes a snake, the ladder becomes a tree, some boxes and a vacuum hose become an elephant, and more. A whole jungle emerges in the shadows. Suddenly, the wolf leaps up into the top half of the book, startling the girl, who defends herself by jumping into her own imagination below. As we can come to expect from Suzy Lee, she is blurring the lines, as the Publishers Weekly review points out, between reality and imagination. There’s reconciliation and joy, all stopped by a cry of “Dinner’s ready!” The book also closes with a nice twist. “Once again, Lee focuses on a single idea, develops it with rich imaginative power, and executes it with grace and finesse,” adds Publishers Weekly.
Here are some spreads. (I hate to put borders around them, but if I do so, you can click on each to enlarge slightly and see in more detail.) Enjoy.
SHADOW. Copyright © 2010 by Suzy Lee. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco.
NOTE: Another book on the NYT list is Peter Brown’s Children Make Terrible Pets, which is a winner of a picture book. You may remember Peter discussing it (and sharing early spreads and sketches from it) in my April interview with him. Still, though, tomorrow he’s going to stop by and say a bit more about it — and share some more art. If you’re so inclined, come visit then.
As a reminder, 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a 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.
1). I love this trailer for a new documentary short about the oldest Holocaust survivor in the world, Alice Herz-Sommer. There are many reasons to love it, but here are my two favorites: 1). When she says, “music is God.” 2). Chopin.
2). Getting words on paper for a new chapter for this and overcoming writer’s block. (I am not sure sometimes if “writer’s block” suffices for moments of extreme self-deprecation, as in “you suck and who ever thought you could write a BOOK, Jules?” but I’ll use “writer’s block” for lack of a better phrase.)
3). People like J. Patrick Lewis, who stopped by this week, and how, as my friend noted, it’s a good, good thing in this world that people like him are alive and making gorgeous things and thinking wise thoughts.
4). Autumn.
5). I sort of boldly and nervously emailed Karen Peris of The Innocence Mission, one of my favorite bands, to tell her not only how much I love their new CD, but also how much I needed to hear EXACTLY it, particularly last week. (I had corresponded with her previously, because of this post in which I featured some of her art.) And she kindly got back to me and thanked me for my note. Isn’t that terrifically nice of her?
6). Also: I like this song by Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling so, so much — not to mention this song by Horse Feathers.
7). I also finally purchased, months late, The Black Keys’ new CD, released this summer. IT IS MIGHTY GOOD. I had already purchased one track, the one performed live in the below video, which I leave you with now on account of its blinding and overwhelming greatness. (I’ve been obsessed with this song since July.)
BONUS: The very funny Paula of Pink Me all zippy-quick penned a 7-Imp theme song. See these comments for the low-down. I thank her for the enthusiastic song. Think we can get The Black Keys to record it?
What about you? What are YOUR kicks this week?
I just saw “Shadows” too. THankyou Suzy Lee for making me fall in love with Picture Books all over again. Rethinking that thing called a book in a new way-YES! it is still possible.(550 years later and counting)
it reminds me a little of one of my favorite illustrations by Gyo Fujikawa
http://drawn.ca/archive/page/4/?s=books
amy
I, too, was SO excited to see the NYTimes list start showing on twitter late this past week. So many great titles. It’s been an extra special week for me….here goes:
1. Laurie Halse Anderson came to DC as part of her FORGE book tour and RIF was fortunate to be her “nanny” escorting her to her school visits – what an extra special day I discuss here: http://bit.ly/chXjqL and posted a few pics here: http://bit.ly/bT7Ak5. We will be putting together a video of her extraordinary presentation that had 8th graders rapt and participating!
2. Leaves were peaking in Alexandria, VA and I experienced autumn’s glory yet again!
3. Finished PENNY DREADFUL and FORGE, deciding today what to open next to explore.
4. Announced a new Literacy Services Dept. head for RIF and am so excited about her arrival in January!
5. Tasted some tiny little cupcakes “BAKED BY MELISSA” in New York City and they werre delectable!
6. Was hit over the head by how close the holiday period is to being here, finalized plans with family for Thanksgiving and Christmas visits as well as made a surprise call to my son to tell him of my birthday visit to see him the week before Thanksgiving.
7. Reporting a week late given my non-wired status last weekend: a train trip from NYC to the mountains of Virginia a week ago Friday in a tiny little private train car room was the most delectable treat in ages….beautiful foliage for much for the trip as we passed through the countryside and room to stretch and doze!
Happy week, happy reading to all!
Carol
GOOD GRIEF as Charlie B would say: HOW could I leave out that RIF turned 44 this past week?!?!?! I guess in my weak defense it’s a case of we had the public party early and alas, I thought of the birthday as two weeks ago!
Suzy Lee rocks. I love the cover. Will have to reack down the NY Times list.
Jules, I love the autumn pics. Do you need dark chocolate to unblock your writer’s block?
Carol, Happy birthday RIF. I am looking forward to reading Forge and Penny Dreadful.
My kicks:
First and: There is another auction for Bridget Zinnstarting. She has been battling Stage IV colon cancer. Her debut novel comes out in 2010. Details here: http://deowriter.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/happy-birthday-bridget/
Well when it rains it pours…
The beginning of the week was hard, missing my Rusty and the condolences are healing.
Last night, we had a farewell party for my daughter and her family as they are moving to Medford. Has lots of dancing and silliness with the grandgirls. But I came home to news that my almost 91 YO aunt is in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs. I have planned to leave on Wed. to visit her. Am praying I don’t have to leave quicker. Hospital said she is stable.
I am very thankful for this community of support.
How great is a book like this, completely turning itself over to a kid’s imagination — even to the point where the kid freaks him/herself out? That used to happen to me all the time. Thanks to both Suzy Lee and to you, Jules, for reminding me of the seeds of my hundred neuroses. 🙂
…Okay, I’ve now been here for over two hours this morning. Before getting into regular kicks-type kicks, I’d like to say, Jules, that your posts kill me. There’s like this hard glittering and thoroughly nominal subject matter, kids’ books, and if I came here just for that I’d think my weeks were richer. But my gosh, woman, when you get into fourth-gear Kicks Mode… The links sort of fan out into a tree of high wonder. (Not at all excluding, btw, the links which your commenters here offer.) The music, the other book blogs, videos, high and low comedy and drama of everyday (and not-so-everyday) life…
…Erm, cough, okay. As I was saying, let’s see:
Amy, that Gyo Fujikawa image is *wonderful*!
Congrats on the RIF anniversary, Carol (heck, even the FIRST anniversary would have been something to shout about!). And I cannot even imagine what it must be like to take a train trip in a private room. A little like waiting for the Hogwarts candy-vendor cart to show up at the door, hmm?
Another tough week, Jone. So sorry you’re having to go through all this at once; will keep winging music-like thoughts (per the first video Jules included) your way.
My kicks:
* Strange week for medical stuff (close at hand and more distant) which looked scarier than it was. Ultimately, from the right perspective, it all just said, “Everybody’s here now; pretty great, huh?”
* Mom’s 79th birthday was on Monday; I had a one-hour phone call with her a couple days later, which was just like, I don’t know… like being on a one-hour aimless drive in a car alone with her. Not talking about anything in particular, just enjoying each other’s conversation.
* Weather broke hard in a fall-wards direction over the last few days. We take what we can get.
* …and in the same vein, for some reason last night’s switch back to Standard Time couldn’t have come a moment too soon.
* People keeping their good humor at times when they might be turning on one another.
* A mug of just about any hot beverage more exotic than plain water, cupped in the hands and held under the nose.
* The Information Is Beautiful site is awesome.
Happy birthday, Colleen!
Thanks for sharing more of Suzy Lee’s work, Jules. I’ll have to check out Shadow. Thanks for also sharing pretty music, stories of survival, and the fall. Congratulations on overcoming writer’s block! I want to hear the theme song. I couldn’t find a link/video in those comments. I clearly missed it somehow.
Rasco from RIF: That sounds like a lovely trip. Glad that you had fun on your visit, and with Laurie’s visit, and all good things there. Happy birthday to RIF. 🙂
Jone: My thoughts with Bridget, and much appreciation and kudos to those running and participating in the auction. Looking forward to her debut novel! Sending strength to your aunt.
My kicks from the past week:
1) Short film last Sunday – Playing against type, and handing heavy subject matter with a fun cast and crew that kept spirits light.
2) Getting a sneak peek at the rough cut of the short film shot the previous week – Our filmmaker has an impressive eye for shots and for storytelling, and the score music is so beautiful and suitable.
3 and 4) Callback for a new musical – I tried out for the lead role last week, had the callback this week, and a few hours later after that second audition, I got a call offering me the role! It’s a staged reading of the show, and we’ll have perhaps two or three rehearsals between now and the show, which is a week from today!
5) Short film shoot on Friday – another one-day shoot, on location, playing a sassy, greedy character completely unlike me, with some improv (encouraged by the director) to boot!
6) Filming a project both days this weekend for a great cause – we had a nice shoot yesterday with an unexpectedly early wrap time (which gave me time to breathe between the shoot and the show), and I’m eager to go back today.
7) Last night’s concert – We had a packed house, so packed that they SET UP CHAIRS OUTSIDE so that people could watch from there. (The venue has floor-to-ceiling windows to the sides and behind the stage, so the people outside could see the profiles or backs of the singers and band members.) Many, many thanks for my friends who came to see the show last night. I’m so glad they came, and hope they enjoyed it. I can’t believe we’re two-thirds of the way through the run of the show already. 🙁
Jules: Waaahhh, I want Suzy Lee books! Thank you SO much for all of the music and videos you shared this week. And I love the family pictures!
Amy: Whoa. It is like that Gyo Fujikawa illustration.
Carol: Maligayang Kaarawan to RIF!!!!
Jone: I hope your aunt gets well very, very soon. *hugs, hugs, more hugs, even more hugs*
John: Mmm. Mugs of hot beverages. Mmm.
Little Willow: You are always so busy. I still cannot believe you don’t drink any caffeine! *mind-boggled*
My kicks:
1. Last week, I had Sunday champagne brunch with my aunt and two younger brothers at a fancy hotel. We were celebrating JP and Brian’s gold medals at the world championships. =D Oysters, lobster, shrimp cocktail, roast beef, potato gratin, strawberries, chocolate, and unlimited champagne, among other things. Wow.
2. 7-Imp, a constant source of inspiration.
3. My younger brothers, JP and Brian.
4. Playing Just Dance 2 on Nintendo Wii!
5. Getting an extra ear piercing along with my best friend Isaac. LOL.
6. My new friend Francis.
7. Reading Minders of Make-Believe by Leonard Marcus.
8. I attended a book launch today. A woman and her son at the event recognized me from my blog and asked if they could take a picture with me. Whaaa?
Have a kick-y week everyone. =D Maligayang Kaarawan, Colleen!
‘Shadow’ speaks to the childhood me. We had a very long west-running driveway and the sun literally set at its end certain months of the year. During those times we’d stage “shadow parades” or play “shadow monsters”. Suzy Lee has captured that fun (applause.)
Jules – your fall photos are fab! And I adore your blogging when your enthusiasm bumps up against the ceiling of written communication and you imaginatively sprout seven thumbs to turn up. : – )
Amy – the Gyo Fujikawa shadow pic was cool. Thanks.
Rasco – the LHA school tour sounds wonderful. Congrats on RIF’s anniversary.
jone – geez. But, what lovely kicks (fundraising, dancing with grandgirls, thankfulness) you manage to maintain in a storm. Hang in there.
My kicks:
1. Receiving Jane Yolen’s poem-a-day fundraising project for The Center for New Americans. (Her “rough, first drafts” – which these are – are so good. It’s humbling.)
2. TIME CHANGE! “Falling back” and getting to sleep another hour. (I love to sleep that last half-awake/half-asleep hour.)
3 & 4. Jules, thanks for sharing: “Cooking with Henry and Ellie-bellie” on Thursday. It and its trailer with that late-50s, early-60s soundtrack were KICKs for me this week. Ha!
5. I’m into pomegranates this summer/fall because of the picture book I’m working on. Recently I found Pomegranate Jam online. It is really, really, really tasty!
6. A fellow baseball mom from my son’s distant playing past (like 7 years ago) spotted me in the opposite team’s bleachers and came over to say, “I want you to know that you were the best Team Mom we ever had in all our years of baseball.” Aw; that made my week.
7. I made a decision to do ONE FUN THING with my teenager each day from now on, instead of simply nagging him about homework, cleaning his room, etc. Just one fun thing.
Enjoy your extra hour of sleep (daylight-savings folk) and everyone have a great week!
P.S.
JES – you posted while I was composing and I had to laugh at our common takes.
The ‘Information is Beautiful’ site is very cool (lthe “true size of Africa” graphic illustratio was, well, REALLY informative.) thanks.
LW — busy, busy, busy. (When do you blog? When do you sleep?) Impressive. RE: #7, Name of the concert?
Tarie — thanks for the L Marcus book rec.
And I’m out before someone else posts!
Jules, you rule breaker you! Worth it for the pics, though! And love the photo with autumn leaves.
JES you have inspired me to go get a cup of tea. And thanks for the link – I love people who do clever and pretty things with data.
Jone, I hope your aunt is OK.
Rasco, lots of foliage goodness in your kicks. I love sleeper cabins because they are also little private rooms on the train, and have often wished I could sit in one for a longer journey rather than a few hours before sleep.
LW, glad to hear things are busy and well for you
Wow, Tarie, that list of food is fantastic! And how cool to be a famous blogger 🙂
Denise pomegranate jam? sounds brilliant. Will keep an eye out for it!
Things are going well here, and despite having sold a lot of our household furniture (yay!), have managed to time collections so that I still have a table to type from! Despite the house looking like we have been robbed by malicious burglers who left behind piles of paper and charity shop donations, we are feeling organised and like we know where most stuff is going.
Little Willow: I’m always glad to have listed my kicks before yours; I’m not sure I’d have the energy afterwards. 🙂 Love ’em!
Gonna go out on a limb here, Tarie, and guess that “Maligayang Kaarawan” translates to “Happy Birthday.” Pretty clever of me, huh? (Which word is the happy and which the birthday?) And I’m surprised you remembered any of the rest of the week, given unlimited champagne on Sunday!
Denise, like they say: Great minds, same channels. (Smart, they are. Wish I knew who they were so I could thank them.)
emmaco: I must’ve missed the news at some point… are you re-locating somewhere? or just feeling especially, um, industrious and in-charge of your possessions? (I’m jealous, if the latter!)
And Denise, again: overlooked the bit about the pomegranates. (Which I’m afraid I always think of as the ugliest fruit, sorry. Like the brains an alien zombie would hunger for.) Will be curious to see what sort of picture book features them!
Denise: Pomegranates are my absolute favorite fruit! I’m excited about your picture book featuring them!
Emmaco: Glad things are going so well. =D
John: The root word “ligaya” means “joy” and the root word “araw” means “day.” =D
But booooooo – pomegranates are beautiful!
Of course I catalogue and neaten all my possessions regularly, JES, don’t you? Nah, we’re moving back to Australia in less than a fortnight. So some stuff comes with us, some is shipped back, some is sold and some given away. After a few surprises along the way (eg we seem to have acquired more pillows than we thought) we think we at least know roughly where most things should go.
Hi everyone,
Late kicks because I am in a fair amount of pain from a back problem and am trying to stay in the horizontal position.
Everyone’s kicks are wonderful today. Reading them always makes me feel good.
My kicks:
1) Vacationing in the beautiful city of Asheville, North Carolina with my boyfriend last week — we had a wonderful time and most of my kicks revolve around our trip.
2) The beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
3) The jaw-dropping sight of Vanderbilt’s library at the Biltmore House — I wanted to get locked in all night so I could peruse his 10,000 books and soak up the majesty of that room. I had goosebumps the entire time.
4) The fact that downtown Asheville consists entirely of non-chain stores, something I didn’t think I would ever see in the U.S. again. Such an amazing place to be. Small business owners and artists rule!
5) Having dinner with two of Jules’ friends while we were in Asheville — such wonderful people and I got one link closer to actually meeting Jules someday!
6) The S.F. Giants World Series win!! So proud of the home team.
7) Dragging myself to S.F. last night despite my back pain, to be a part of the taping of a live CD by one of our favorite local bands — the wonderful Luce. A very fun show in the living room of a Victorian house.
Hope everyone has a week filled with the lovely colors of autumn.
Kicks:
1/ That you mentioned The Innocence Mission and I put it on while making dinner tonight. (Being a Canuck, I’m partial to “The Lakes of Canada,” and I love the name “Peris,” as I love the word “peregrine.” I empathize with the bold and nervous emailing. I did that to a well-known author-illustrator when I started writing, and she was also so gracious in her response.
2/ 7 yo’s bowling party at an old-school place where the kids didn’t want to leave and my crazy strawberry cake turned out (even though when I carved it up it wasn’t pretty!)
3/ End-of-season baseball party in the country with bonfire and s’mores. (S’mores 2x in one month – a record for us, I think.)
4/ Being suspended in a state of hope, aware of possibilities. (Details later?)
5/ Thinking about exercising again. (Yes, it’s only a first step, butI need to research for a picture book idea and may be taking some dance lessons.)
6/ Fall leaves.
7/ Taking picture with kids in the aforementioned fall leaves.
Hope you have a great week. Already looking forward to the next Nashville Kidlit Drink Night!
Thanks for that link, Amy. I’ve got a Mother Goose collection by Fujikawa that I really like. But I just realized how little I know about her other work…
Carol, happy birthday to RIF. Wow. You had a very, very good week, too. You have a rich life. I’m glad you’ll get to see your son, and congratulations on such a good visit from Laurie.
Jone, oh dear, I’m sorry to hear your family is moving away (how far away is Medford from you?), and I’m so sorry to hear about your aunt. Please keep us updated.
And, yes to the dark chocolate, which I’d never turn down. Thanks for the Bridget link, too.
John, you make me blush. You’re kind. Thank you. You know how I feel about your kicks, too, mini, multi-faceted masterpieces that revel in the sensory delights of this world. ….So glad there’s no continued medical drama (? I think), and I hope you and yours are okay. And, whoa, the Information is Beautiful site is like a dream for Information Science majors (who weren’t Information Science majors like me — that is, Hey I’m Just Looking for the Major Where You Do a Scholarly Study of Children’s Lit, The Rest I Will Tolerate). …Love your penultimate kick, and happy birthday to your mother, who was wise to bring you into this world.
Little Willow, in my Thursday post, Tammi Sauer came along and said someone should write a theme song for me (since the book trailer in that post had one), and then Paula came along and wrote:
That’s the story, and I’m stickin’ to it. Wish I knew how to link to individual comments. I’m sure there’s a way.
CONGRATS, Little Willow, on scoring the musical. And, YES, to see you play greedy would be a paradigm shift, indeed. I’m so glad you had a happy week.
Tarie, THANK YOU for the comment about 7-Imp. Right back atcha, my friend. Glad you got to celebrate your brothers. And kick #8? BUT OF COURSE. And I love the phrase “joy day.”
Denise, the time change was a complete surprise to scatter-brained-me this week. Truly. I woke up thinking the clock battery was dead. It was nice to get some results after always saying, I need more hours in my day. Glad you like the Henry book, and I like the idea you have about your teenager. Break a leg.
Emmaco, always good these days (and kind of you) to check in, since you are suh-wamped with moving and getting-ready-to-be-married’ing. Best of luck with everything. Anything we kickers can do to help?
Jill, I wish you a speedy recovery. I really do. Boo to the back pain. I loved reading more about your trip and look forward to catching up with you soon. Glad you got out to see Luce after all, too.
Jessica, we were typing simultaneously, and I didn’t even see you in cyberspace or I would have waved.
Oh I just love you even more for being an Innocence Mission fan. They’re hard to describe, huh?
And do you mean swing dancing? (I saw your FB video.) I really, really, really, reeeeeeally want to learn swing one day.
p.s. Jessica, The Lakes of Canada is…wow…I mean…wow…seriously—and no one will believe me, since I speak in hyperbole—one of my top-five favorite songs in all the world. It is the world’s most perfect little folk song.
Thanks for all your wonderful, supprtive comments. I love this gathering.
Jules, Medford is five hours away. Could be worse.
“Shadow” totally reminds me of “Round Trip” by Ann Jonas…such fun, I’m going out to buy it. Love it.
Jone, still. I’m sure it’s not easy. Hugs to you. Wish I could give you real ones.
Annalisa, excellent point. Hadn’t thought of that.
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That book looks beautiful! I love the concept and the artwork. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Also, I enjoyed the “breakin’ the law” link. 😀
And, I don’t know if it helps, but I get that kind of “writer’s block” all too frequently. I guess it comes with the territory…
Jill: I hope your back feels better soon!!! And downtown Asheville sounds awesome. I’m so jealous of you Nashville Kidlit Drink Night folks . . . .
Jessica: Yay for bowling parties with strawberry cake!
Annalisa: Hi. =D
Aquafortis: Speaking of your writing . . . I’m really looking forward to reading your work!
Sarah, thanks for the solidarity, man. I need it. Maybe we can start an online self-esteem support group. This can be our logo:
There are actually loads of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a great level to bring up. I provide the ideas above as normal inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up the place the most important factor will likely be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged around things like that, however I am certain that your job is clearly identified as a good game. Both boys and girls really feel the impression of just a second’s pleasure, for the remainder of their lives.