7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #228: Featuring Jennifer Sattler
AND an Actual 7-Imp Contest and Anarchic Book-Give-Away (I Never Really Do Book-Give-Aways, But This’ll Be Fun, Promise)
July 17th, 2011 by jules
Before the summer gets away from us all (well, times flies when you’re busy, and before we know it, school will be starting), I’m showcasing today one of the most summery picture books I’ve seen this year, Pig Kahuna (Bloomsbury, May 2011).
This is the third picture book from fine artist Jennifer Sattler. (This 2009 7-Imp post features art from her first two titles.) It tells the story of Fergus and his baby brother, Dink, who are collecting treasures at the shore one day: Seaweed. A pebble that looks like an eyeball. A shell that might really be a shark’s tooth. Their collection grows. And all is well, “as long as Fergus didn’t have to go in the water.” There is the “lurking, murky ickiness factor of the water,” after all.
But then a surfboard washes ashore. They name it Dave. Needless to say, they play with it well away from the water. But when Fergus trots off to get ice cream, Dink sets Dave free. (This is pictured above.) Fergus braves the water to save Dave, but the entire experience isn’t what he expected:
Don’t worry. The look of fear eventually subsides.
Sattler’s sunny spreads are rendered in acrylics and colored pencil. Kristi Jemtegaard in the Washington Post wrote, “Jennifer Sattler’s sun-drenched beachscapes sweep across the pages, a-bubble with foamy fantasy, and her big-eyed, flat-snouted porcine heroes with their sailboat-sized ears are guaranteed giggle-makers.” That pretty much sums it up right there.
This one’s simply some good summer fun. Er, I mean, totally righteous fun, kahunas and dudettes. Right. I’m not so good at surfing lingo, am I?
You can click each image above to enlarge and take in Sattler’s brushstrokes and sunshine’y colors.
Okay, now for the book-give-away contest thingy: You all remember this recent post, yes? Well, John and Jana’s A Rule Is to Break: A Child’s Guide to Anarchy is now out. Since there was such a happy response to that book’s very existence, John and Jana are doing a book-give-away here at 7-Imp. So, if you’re interested, here’s what you can do:
Email me by Wednesday of this week fifty words on your most anarchic act. John and Jana have three copies of the book (with anarchic buttons) to give away. John, Jana, and I will each pick a favorite anarchic story, and then those will be the three winners. (If this sounds clumsy, blame me. I don’t tend to do book give-aways, but when John said “they can email you fifty words on their most anarchic act,” I was all, THAT IS FASCINATING AND LET’S DO IT.)
So, let’s hear about your own moment of anarchy, shall we? (Feel free to even post your fifty-word story in the comments, if you’re so inclined. And of course it doesn’t have to be exactly fifty words. -Ish will do.)
To get us in the spirit of things, here’s my tale ‘o’ anarchy (though clearly I’m exempt from this contest): I once went streaking with friends late at night on my college campus. Believe it or not, no alcohol was involved. I may or may not have done it twice, in point of fact. (I heard later that we may have started a trend, too, and that a group of people in the class under us engaged in their own streaking, all inspired by our own frivolities and goofiness, but don’t quote me on that, as I’m not entirely sure.)
Now that I’ve admitted that, DUDE. You gotta share.
PIG KAHUNA. Copyright © 2011 by Jennifer Sattler. Published by Bloomsbury, New York. Spreads reproduced by permission of Ms. Sattler.
Note for any new readers: 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.
This doesn’t really fit in a kicks post, but today is the 12th anniversary of my brother’s death. I don’t know how to word this part of my post, and I’ve written and deleted. And written and deleted. And written and deleted again. I don’t want to bring the room down, and I don’t intend for this to be a buzz-kill (kicks-kill?) or for the comments to become a dumping ground for condolences. But to not mention him today just feels wrong. I miss him. He was my favorite human. I wish so super bad that my girls knew him. They are the same age difference (nineteen months apart) that my brother and I were, and they have at least inherited the same fondness (ahem, obsession) for cats my brother and I had when we were little. It’s funny to see it all play out again. And in the same little idiosyncratic ways.
Anyhow. Because I was lucky enough to know him, kick #1 is…
1) …this picture of us when we were little:
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I’d like to think of him as being in another room somewhere, waiting just around the corner, where I can see him again one day. Who knows. We move on. We focus on the living, yes? It’s all we can do.
2) It made me laugh out loud when Geneviève Côté said in Thursday’s interview, when I asked what profession she would not like to do, “I have the utmost respect for all medical professions, and as an illustrator, I’m grateful that my worst mistake will probably never be more serious than drawing a dog that looks like a misshapen kangaroo.”
3) This is a couple of weeks old, but I keep forgetting: I also laughed when Roger Sutton tweeted on July 7th, “Today is NOT a good day to stick a ‘whimsical’ picture book in front of my nose.” That just got me.
4) Adam Rex + Neil Gaiman. See? I had no idea about this until this week, and I gasped all happy-like.
5) You must watch this great trailer. I wish I could embed it here.
Heaven bless Aardman Animations.
5½) Ingrid Dabringer’s map paintings are neat. Thanks to Susan Thomsen for that link.
6) The July issue of The Bluegrass Special is online. Those guys rock.
Speaking of music, this news about The Black Keys’ next CD makes me do a fist pump. I think they could perform the alphabet and I’d be entertained.
7) I heard Michael Sims speak yesterday at the Nashville Public Library about this book, which I’m currently reading and which is delightful. He was a wonderful speaker, so funny and self-deprecating but quite obviously brilliant at what he does. And before I heard him, I took in this Charlotta Janssen exhibit about the Freedom Riders. No, really. Go watch the video at that link, if you have a second. Fascinating.
NOTE: The fifth annual KidLitCon will be held September 16-17, 2011, in downtown Seattle. I’m unable to go but mention it here for those of you who may be interested.
Aloha, Jennifer Sattler! I read Pig Kahuna last month and passed it right along to a friend who has two sons. 🙂
Jules, I am thinking of you and your family and sending you lots of comfort. Every time you share a happy memory about your brother with your girls, you keep him around, and you let them know him through you.
Jules and Genevieve, when I had to draw a picture for a middle school history class assignment, my teacher asked me why a dog was pulling a cart. I clarified: “That’s a horse.”
More for Jules (I’m clearly here super early today!) Please let me know if and when you find out a title and release date for the Rex & Gaiman collaboration.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Sketch comedy audition
2) Short film audition
3) Webseries audition
4) Fly on the wall
5) Errands complete!
6) Sharing an excerpt of Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, illustrated by Erin McGuire, a book which the Imps will LOVE: Click here for excerpt of Breadcrumbs, alongside a beautiful illustration from the book!
7) Can you do the pancake dance? I challenge you (or your kids, if you’re a parent/teacher/youth librarian!) Click here and leave your video (or at least a comment) at Bildungsroman!
This upcoming week is going to ROCK.
Hey, lady…all of us who were lucky enough to know Don Juan are a little sad today. I also like to think that he’s hanging out close by, watching us do our thing and playing a little guitar in the background. Love you bunches.
My biggest kick of the week…tomatoes from the garden! Also: lunch with the parents; a three-day weekend; 127 Hours; starting a new book (Club Dead); new set of drinking glasses for only $4; this coffee I’m sipping on right now. 🙂
Just discovered that it was a bank holiday weekend, which means Tech Boy will be hanging around until Wednesday. I should be scared – he has so far picked four pounds of strawberries – and cheerfully turned them into jars upon jars of strawberry sauce and jam – he next painted my left arm and leg with henna – because why should he go read a book when he has a perfectly good Girl to pester who has finally finished her SFF revision? — and just yesterday he took a pair of his jeans and a pair of my jeans and made them into a pretty kickin’ skirt, based on a NotMartha pattern he corrupted. (The skirt has just been dyed and is hanging on the clothesline.)
Tech Boy post dissertation is turning into McGyver Boy. He’s read five books in the last three days, has taken apart the vacuum cleaner, and is talking about all of the “projects” that he wants to do now that he’s not writing. I’m kind of afraid to leave him alone in a room with a ball of string and a can opener… but it’s a happy thing. You’d never know he’d been so sick and so stressed. (Thank God.)
I’m going to have to buy the rule-breaking book; I have sadly NO anarchy in my past. I’m totally working toward it for the future, however!! I can’t wait to read these stories…
ADAM REX AND NEIL GAIMAN!!!!!!!! Oh. My. Word. That’s a kick all by itself.
No condolences; just sending you the tightest hug, and will give a joy kick with you, that you knew your brother well, and had him as long as you did. ♥
((Hugs)) to you, Jules — beautiful photo. Thanks for sharing your brother with us. And I love your anarchy story!
Break a leg on all your auditions, LW! You continue to amaze me with all you do :).
Hi Tracy! Envious of your garden tomatoes.
Haven’t been kicking in awhile since I’m on summer blog break, but here are a few recent random things:
We have baby snapping turtles in our yard! SO cute. They’re about the size of silver dollars. Wandering our back yard must feel like the great unknown wilderness to them.
Met the charming and lovely Jeannine Atkins and her husband a couple weeks ago. Mini carrot cake cupcakes were involved. 🙂
Nice time visiting relatives in NH.
New bookshelf! No books on the floor anymore.
Finished cleaning out my blog archives (1000+ entries). Made hard copies of most of the posts and am now compiling them into loose leaf notebooks by subject.
Finding out a book I just *had* to read in the middle of the night was on Kindle, and then getting it instantly.
Cherries and berries and shortbread fingers.
Happy Summering Everyone . . .
Tanita, we passed in cyberspace.
Sounds like Tech Boy is creating lots of his own anarchy now that his dissertation is written. Saw the henna pics — awesome work. What happens when you bathe? And strawberry jam and sauce: YUM!
I will recommend Pig Kahuna to my writing friend, I think she’ll love it with two sons.
Jules, thank you for sharing your brother with us. Anniversaries, even sad ones are important. I like the image of him being in a room next door.
LW, a fly on the wall? am intrigued. Tracy, I can’t wait for my tomatoes and Tanita, 4 lbs of strawberries, oh yum. Jama, yay for new bookshelves.
My kicks:
My oldest grandgirl spending the night 2 times.
Seeing Winnie the Pooh
Reading Silk and Venon for NF Monday.
Coming home after a fabulous 3500 mile road trip.
My garden and rose bush which survived transplanting.
Walking
Writing
Have a great week.
I’m heading out the door to attend the Silent Film Festival in S.F. (especially psyched about seeing a Winsor McCay short film), but wanted to say hello to everyone and happy summer. Jules, thank you for sharing that beautiful photo of you and Donnie. Lots of love and big hugs to you today.
Since it’s Silent Film day for me, I will share this lovely video of the Serpentine Dance:
That Hawaiian-shirted piggy on the golden sand with the turquoise ocean is SUMMER in my book. (I worry those pink sail-like ears will get sunburned!) My dad, “Rudy Kahuna” taught me to surf. He continued surfing into his 70s. He used to wear a Big Kahuna hat (see clip) all afternoon and never lose it to a wave. Thanks Jennifer Sattler for tweaking that memory and for this sweet summery book.
Clip from “Gidget” with Moondoggy and Big Kahuna (Cliff Roberston.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKgpMHjeM4E&feature=related
(Gotta dig those long boards and hokey blue-screen effects!)
Jules. Love that you and your brother are pictured with a book.
Especially enjoyed Pirate trailer (you’ve got to freeze frame on the nudist shot!) and the map paintings this morning. Thanks!
LW – Audition-girl extraordinaire. Hey, when your play(s) go up, shoot me an e-mail. I’ll come see. : – )
Tracey – tomatoes from the garden. I wish.
tanita – “alone in a room with ball of string and a can opener” lol.
jama – baby snapping turtles! Watch your toes when gardening. And congrats on your successful archive, (1000+, wow.)
jone – Thanks for the Winnie the Pooh heads up. From the clip, it looks like Disney’s returned to their charming, simpler version.
Blustery Day is one of my favorite kid flicks.
Jill – OMG that video is amazing! The roiling costume, Fuller’s movements, the hand-tinted frames! Have fun at the fest.
Alright now, kickers, I do NOT believe that there are no childhood anarchists in our midst. Quite the contrary.
In lieu of kicks I will share a 55-word memory of minor civil (Disney?) disobedience over the summer I was sixteen:
My boyfriend and I sabotaged trout pond at Disneyland Hotel. The staff starved fish so tourists would catch’em fast. Hook hit water—instant bite. We felt that was mean, unsportsmanlike! So, we scavenged bread from dumpster behind Day-Old Bakery, hid under footbridge at night and fed the fishies. (Okay… we made out a little too.)
Have a bitchin’ summer, all you gidgets and moondoggies!
I’m glad that you write about your brother’s memorial. I wish my daughter knew my youngest brother.
Kicks:
1. A Dance with Dragons is finally out.
2. I really like A Rule is to Break.
3. My impromptu trip to Orcas Island last week.
4. Fresh raspberry pie on Orcas Island.
5. My daughter’s introduction to A Wizard of Oz (the movie). We read the book first.
6. Tanita’s hennaed limbs.
7. Using the time-lapse video function on my wee camera. Way fun!
Little Willow, I’m glad to hear your week is gonna rock. I’m also with Jama on the Little-Willow amazement thing. Break a leg with all those auditions. I still want to read your SBBT interviews (and others’). I’m slammed with stuff to do right now, but I shall not forget, even if I’m one month late. … The girls and I read an ARC of Breadcrumbs but had so many interruptions I need to read it again, ’cause I got to the end and went, what? It was me, our interruptions, and how long it took us to read it. Not the book. Love the illustrations. Want to try to feature them at the blog.
Tracy, thanks. Hugs, and here’s to the Nerd-Sex Club. .. We saw 127 Hours recently too. Whoa.
Tanita, I’m glad Tech Boy feels better and that you finished revisions, but then I just emailed you that too. And surely you have anarchy SOMEwhere in your past. (Farida’s entry proves it doesn’t have to be mischievous in nature. Or naughty. Is that the word I want? Anyway, she emailed hers.)
Jama: Shortbread. Yum. And “Made hard copies of most of the posts and am now compiling them into loose leaf notebooks by subject.” WHOA WHOA HUBBA WHOA. This is amazing and also makes me happy, ’cause I think you should publish a book some day. (Not sure if that’s your intent, but still…sounds book-like, either way.)
Jone, glad the road trip was good. And I think we’ll be seeing the Pooh movie this week. Glad it got your thumbs-up. I admit I get teary-eyed at their choice for Keane in the trailer, but mostly ’cause I love what that song captures, Pooh or not. (That is simply a great song.)
Jill! Thanks for the video. I am not ignoring your email either, by the way. Cramming on a presentation. I need hours in the day just for email. As in, to create hours. Have fun today. I’m happy you’ll get to see your McKay short film. Can’t wait to hear about it.
Denise, your dad continued to surf into his 70s? ROCK. Thanks for sharing the video. Love your anarchic story. Fight the system.
Farida, I want to hear all about the trip….Did your daughter like the film? Did the witch scare her? She scared me well into my tweens. … I read the first two Oz books when Piper was so young. She was hooked. Little fantasy lover I have on my hands. I should try them again with her. And keep going. …. Thanks for your anarchic story!
Henna is a stain, so once it dries and you flake off the “frosting,” as Farida’s daughter calls it, it begins to oxidize on your skin. I didn’t wash it with soap for a day, just water, and it’s going to be on me for days or weeks, who knows, it depends on the skin.
Anarchy… okay, I painted my faux Keds in college with the words “No Blood for Oil…” does that count? I leave books in public places with sticky notes that say “Take Me Home!” Sheesh, I worked at a summer camp for six years, there should be any number of times when I snuck out with my cabin and Did Things To People, but mainly I was the lookout, and they did all the quiet mania…
Still thinking…
Tanita, those are both bad-ass anarchic. Yes, I think so. I love the book one.
I hear ya on the others-doing-the-quiet-mania thing. In high school, I could have gotten away with SO MUCH, yet didn’t even try. Where’s my wayback machine?
Jules-I find anniversaries equally confusing. I lost my dad four years ago and somehow feel on Feb. 2 each year that I want to wear a note around my neck announcing his anniversary but then you don’t want to be the one announcing bad news… yuck and thinking of you!
So anyway… Kicks…
1. Beautiful summer days
2. Corn on the cob
3. The Weird Sisters
4. Running
5. Blogging four days in a row
6. Saving money
7. The library
Stacey: Yeah. Bingo. Sorry to hear about your dad, too.
The Weird Sisters. Please explain! Well, I mean if you want, but I’m intrigued. Wait! [Time interlude]…It must be this. Hmmm…Looks intriguing.
You got it! I’m an only child so no real weird sisters here 🙂 The book was a good summer read- and maybe all the more intriguing as an only child who is a mother to two little girls- who I don’t think are weird!
[…] In more contest-related news! Jules @ Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast who featured all things john & jana last month, is giving away 3 copies of our latest book, A […]
Jules,
I love that childhood picture of you and your brother. He should be remembered. My mother was the eldest of four children. She lost two of her siblings in their young adulthod. It’s a loss she still feels today–and she’s ninety-three.
MY KICKS
1. My daughter Sara, her husband Jerry, and their dog Jack stopped by for a visit on Saturday.
2. We had dinner with Sara and Jerry on Sunday at their house and watched the US play Japan in the World Cup final.
3. Looking forward to becoming a grandmother…soon!
Late to the table but here nevertheless:
My kicks:
1. Netting hermit crabs in a tidal zone
2. Letting hermit crabs go
3. Planning something stellar for March 2012
4. Watching the Gin Blossoms playing right up close
5. Chaperoning a five-year-old’s first ferris wheel ride
6. Reading Valerie Worth’s Animal Poems
7. And recalling this older poem, a climbing rhyme:
BEFORE
By Steven Withrow
Before we go,
let us slowly
compose ourselves,
like toy shelves kept
by elves, or pins
pointed in a
cushion, like poems.
Copyright 2010 by Steven Withrow. All rights reserved.
Elaine, can’t wait to hear about that baby’s entrance into the world!
Steven, that may be my favorite poem of all. And, my, isn’t kick #3 cryptic and enticing?