7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #354: Featuring Melissa Sweet
October 27th, 2013 by jules
Good morning to all. I’m doing something similar this week (to what I did last week). I wrote a review for the fine folks at BookPage of Joan Holub’s Little Red Writing (Chronicle Books, September 2013), illustrated by Melissa Sweet. And since that review is up over at their site, I thought I’d link to it and share some art from the book. Melissa even sent some early sketches from the book, also posted below.
So, to read about this very fun book (special heads-up to teachers of writing in the elementary grades), head on over here. And the images are below.
I thank Melissa for sharing the art and sketches today.
LITTLE RED WRITING. Copyright © 2013 by Joan Holub. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Melissa Sweet. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Sketches reproduced by permission of Melissa Sweet.
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. New kickers are always welcome.
1) I finally got to see Neko Case live. That was this past week here in Nashville, and she rocked hard. Oh-so hard.
2) In just about two weeks is the Laura Marling show in Nashville. I’m psyched about that, too.
This little in-studio performance was released this past week:
3) Sound financial advice.
4) A healing cat.
5) Hot cocoa and warm blankets after a long, chilly, very outside kind of day.
6) Spending all day one day this week with this one:
7) Good job news for my friends.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
Well, this is a first. No earlier comments? *checks out window for signs of overlooked zombie apocalypse* Hmm. It’s quiet. Too… quiet.
I never get to say Hi Jules! first. So that’s all I’m doing for now, because if I wait to post a REAL comment someone will beat me to it.
Good Morning and such a sweet morning! I love Melissa Sweet’s work.
Jules, I regret not seeing Neko Case when she was in Portland. Hope kitty isn’t too ill.
JES, good morning!
My Kicks:
1. The Bubble Song to get PreK moving.
2. Being brave. I video taped my lesson with PreK.
3. Fall Leaves. The are disappearing quickly.
4. Students being word collectors.
5. Making black bean soup.
6. Lining up my author for the school visit, hopefully a mini artist in residence with Susan Blackaby.
7. Bittersweet kick: my dear friend and my former co-director of school plays is in the final chapter in her journey with brain cancer. I was able to see her on Friday at the hospital. I hope I have a few more visits with her.
Have a great week.
Hi (again) Jules! Thanks so much for introducing us to Little Red Writing’s ‘hood. Love the artwork, storyline, and — oooooh, look, sparkly punning too!
So glad you had such a Kickin’ week, Jules. (Neko!, of course, among the other sweet stuff.) But I have to say that it was probably just a happy coincidence to open 7-Imp today and see this (in part). I don’t know what it is which seems to have gotten their respectively awed and delighted attention — maybe the word “Meta,” which would be weird and also apropos — but I wish I did.
Hi, jone! So sorry to hear of your friend/co-director. A very tough thing.
Kicks here…
1. Somebody just posted a link to this article on FB: about a series of posed baby photos — the photographer’s own sleeping baby, dressed/posed in various dreamtime/fantasy settings. Very cool!
2. Wonderful sushi at a place we don’t often visit. Sorta out of the way for us, but you’ll laugh to know we drove up there not just for the excellent food but for convenience: it’s practically next door to the PetSmart which is the only place in town which sells these training treats for The Pooch — the only ones which make her behave remotely trainable. 🙂
3. Creative regeneration.
4. Spontaneous video chats.
5. Crossing the seasonal weather threshold to 70-degree highs. For however long it lasts.
6. Desultory, unexciting, trouble-free, long walks with The Pooch under an immaculate blue sky.
7. Mystery Train — the song and the movie.
Have a great week, Kickers!
JES, that’s hilarious that you go to sushi for the dog treat run. Our dogs are crazy about Charlie Bears from Trader Joes. We call the Charlie Crack they love them so much.
Jules. I can’t believe I forgot this as a kick…I started reading Child of my Heart last night…loved this line ” a biography of my clothing.”
Yay for Little Red Writing! Thanks for sharing. Bonus points for wordplay and cartwheels.
jules: Enjoy the music and the cocoa. Hi to the munchkins. How is kitty? What happened?
JES: I wasn’t delayed by the zombie apocalypse – I’ve survived two of those already – I was delayed by a migraine. Fun times! (Frequent times.) Also, “creative regeneration” makes me think of Doctor Who. And there’s a marathon (Ten and Donna) on BBC America right now, so that’s soothing and inspiring.
Jone: Sending strength to your friend, and her loved ones.
My kicks from the past week:
1) To quote Deadline.com: NBC has ordered a script for a procedural from 20th Century Fox TV, based on Thomas Sniegoski’s Remy Chandler urban fantasy six-volume novel series. I am over the moon for Tom, and I hope the TV series is made, and made well!
If you’ve visited my blog, you know I love these books – and I run the website for the series as well as the author. Here’s some more info on the books and why I love them. I hope you all will read them, if the plot appeals to you:
http://slayground.livejournal.com/760236.html
2) I saw Sara Bareilles live in concert. She was amazing. Her band was wonderful. The audience was tuned in and happy. It was such a wonderful show.
3) Inspiring lines from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
http://slayground.livejournal.com/760554.html
4) Voice
5) Heart
6) Inner strength
7) Science
Glad you enjoyed the concert, Jules! A lovely photo for kick number 6.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend, Jone. I glad you are getting to visit her.
JES, I love those baby pics! It is disappointing to me that we don’t really have Halloween here in Australia so I don’t get a chance to dress the baby up in costumes (let alone story sets).
I hope you’re feeling better, LW!
My kick has been surviving over a week as a single mum at home, without any rats moving in or major meltdowns 🙂 Hats off to parents who do single parenting full time!
Loved this post about Melissa! I have been such a big fan of her awesome work. She is amazing and wonderful. Thanks for sharing this goodness with us!
Hi all! Jules, love Melissa Sweet’s illustrations and brave protagonists – will definitely check out this book!
Black bean soup, fall leaves, hot cocoa, warm blankets = autumn gifts. And great music is a treat any time of year (listening once, listening twice, all seasons of the year are nice…).
Very sorry to hear about your friend, Jone. But so good you got to spend time with her.
1/ Eating healthy junk food and watching game with kids.
2/ Feet up, warm drink, comforter.
3/ Cleaning closets.
4/ Curry and rice.
5/ Practicing waltzing with 9yo and 8yo while humming “Edelweiss” together.
6/ Picking perfect (almost) pumpkins.
7/ People appreciating hard work and saying so.
Back tomorrow. Promise!
I’m here, and sorry I’m late.
Jone, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend, but I’m glad you had that visit with her. I hope you get more, too. … So glad you’re liking McDermott’s writing. She’s my absolute favorite.
John, I’m so confused by that screenshot that I must have looked at it ten times. Are you saying when you opened the site, it opened mid-page? I haven’t had coffee yet, so forgive me if that’s a dense question. … I’ll have to look up Mystery Train. I fully support your sushi drive. I love sushi so much that it’s very bad for our checkbook that I discovered TWO great sushi places near us recently.
Little Willow: The cat has a very bad infection that spread down the side of her body (she’s in the cone of shame right now), and guess what I think started it all? Our younger cat, Pumpkinfacehead, is very aggressive with her. I think he wants to be the only cat in the house. Is always jumping on her and hissing at her and generally making her life hard. So, I think he actually bit her this time, and that’s what started all this. It COULD have been an outside creature, since this older cat sometimes goes out, but I really think it was Pumpkinfacehead. So, now I’m going to have to be extra vigilant about keeping the two of them separated whenever I can. Poor Arabelle’s had a hard time of this, but I JUST got back from the 7 millionth vet visit, and she’s still healing. So, that’s good.
More information than you wanted to know maybe?!
I hope your migraine went away quickly, LW. And, ooh, kick #1? NEAT, super neat! Congrats to Tom. Kick #2 sounds fun, and I love that science is a kick.
Emmaco, you all don’t have Halloween? How can we fix that?
Hi, Vanessa!
Jess, good kicks. That’s a good week right there.
Hey there.
No, it’s not that it opened mid-page. It opened at the top, like it’s supposed to. But as I scrolled down the page, at one point I had the Laura M. video at the top of the screen, and the photo of your youngest at the bottom. The video (before playing) is freeze-framed so LM appears to be singing to the top right of the screen, while the girl you spent the whole day with is looking up and laughing… up and to the right: apparently at exactly whatever-it-is that LM is singing to.
It helped that they were both blondes. Actually a little eerie. 🙂
Ah, I see.
Cool!
I know I’m late and haven’t commented lately, but just wanted to say – I think this book will be fun. I so admire Melissa Sweet.
Great kicks for everyone. What a voice Laura Marling has. Yowza – enjoy that show.
Happy week.
Halloween is becoming more popular here, perhaps because our culture is becoming slightly more American than British influenced??? (am making this up actually). Our local shopping street is running a Halloween afternoon this year where kids can go trick or treating, which I’ve never seen before. I suspect taking a baby along for lollies might be frowned upon, but next year, hurrah!
emmaco: our culture is becoming slightly more American than British influenced??? (am making this up actually) HA! Nothing like the authoritative voice of a native to give one a real feel for foreign lands. 🙂
Thank you Jules, for sharing Little Red Writing.
Find myself obsessed with adverbs since working on this book…here’s to a hauntingly harrowing happy Halloween.
Hi, Allison. Laura Marling is an old soul, as they say, for sure. Hope you’re having a good week.
Emmaco, you could dress up the baby anyway! Maybe?
Melissa, I love adverbs so much. How much? I could go on, using a bunch of adverbs, but then writing instructors would fuss at me. Hee.