Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Right. I know I’m normally posting before breakfast and such. Impossibly and all that, true to the blog’s name. But here’s a post before I say night-night about Night Knight, a quickie post to showcase a couple of spreads from a new picture book I like.

Owen Davey’s Night Knight was originally published last year — in the UK, I assume, given that Davey is from there. [Be sure to check out that link, incidentally. He writes, “I have been earning a living from my drawings and have had work published in every continent except Antarctica (damn those pesky Penguins).” That made me laugh.] This year, Night Knight sees its U.S. publication (January 2012), thanks to Templar Books.

Boy howdy and howdy boy (to put it eloquently), do I like these illustrations. This is simply the story of a young boy heading to bed, but there’s nothing simple about the imaginative spreads here. In his mind, you see, the boy is a knight and “going to bed…is a great adventure.” (Cue “ye olde yawn,” my favorite part of the book.)

He heads down the hallway, which becomes a forest; he climbs the stairs or, if you’re a kick-ass knight, a steep mountain; his bath becomes a crocodile obstacle he must defeat (while brushing his teeth, no less) … You get the picture. Readers even get to turn the book vertically for his “climb into bed,” but the best surprise of all is at the very end when you see what his helmet really is. (I don’t want to give away the ending, though.)

These are highly-saturated digital illustrations. Think orange, rust, amber, gold, burgundy, and more orange, too. Kirkus calls this one a “visual feast.” Indeed. Well, you can see for yourself here anyway, as I managed to secure two spreads to show you — to let the art speak for itself and all that good stuff. Also, you can visit this page of Davey’s site to see even more.

Think one day I can convince Owen to visit 7-Imp? Wouldn’t you like to see more? I would.

Night-night.

NIGHT KNIGHT. Copyright © 2011 by Owen Davey. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.