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What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week (the Halloween Edition), Featuring Gerald Kelley, Harriet Muncaster,
Greg Pizzoli, and Laura Vaccaro Seeger

h1 October 24th, 2014 by jules


— From Carol Brendler’s Not Very Scary,
illustrated by Greg Pizzoli


 


“I don’t know where my mom goes. She’s always my mom, but I think that sometimes she just needs a break from being a witch.”
— From Harriet Muncaster’s I Am a Witch’s Cat
(Click to see spread in its entirety)


 


— From Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s
Dog and Bear: Tricks and Treats


 


— From J. Patrick Lewis’
M is for Monster: A Fantastic Creatures Alphabet,
illustrated by Gerald Kelley


 

We’re celebrating Halloween today, 7-Imp style, with lots of artwork.

Last week here at Kirkus, I did a round-up of some good, new Halloween titles. Today, I’ve got some art from each one. All the art, all the info, and all the covers are below. Greg Pizzoli even sent some early dummy images for his illustrations for Carol Brendler’s Not Very Scary.

Today over at Kirkus, I write about two of my very favorite brand-new early chapter books for children (and both are illustrated). That link is here.

Enjoy the art …



 

Dummy images and art from Carol Brendler’s
Not Very Scary, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, August 2014)



Title page spread
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“Melly loved surprises and Malberta’s were the best.
So on the scariest night of all, Melly set out for a visit.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“…three wheezy withces following two skittish skeletons and one coal-black cat with an itchy-twitchy tail! ‘Not particularly scary,’ said Melly, but she bit her claws,
one by one. Then she saw …”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“…five grimy goblins following four mournful ghosts, three wheezy witches, two skittish skeletons, and one coal-black with an itchy-twithcy tail! ‘Not remarkably scary,’
said Melly, but she backed away, right into a briar patch. Then she saw …”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“…seven frenzied fruit bats following six sullen mummies, five grimy goblins, four mournful ghosts, three wheezy witches, two skittish skeletons, and one coal-black cat with an itchy-twitchy tail! ‘Not especially scary!’ Melly yelled,but her little monster heart skipped a beat-beat-beat. Then she saw …”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“…nine rambunctious rats join eight spindly spiders, seven frenzied fruit bats, six sullen mummies, five grimy goblins, four mournful ghosts, three wheezy witches, two skittish skeletons, and one coal-black cat with an itchy-twitchy tail! ‘Not tremendously scary!’ Melly yelled, but she shivered as she raised the rusty latch on the gate. Then she saw …”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“…ten vexing vultures join nine rambunctious rats, eight spindly spiders, seven frenzied fruit bats, six sullen mummies, five grimy goblins, four mournful ghosts, three wheezy witches, two skittish skeletons, and one coal-black cat with an itchy-twitchy tail!
‘NOT VERY SCARY!’ Melly yelled, but her fangs ch-ch-chattered
as she rang Malberta’s b-b-bell.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“‘Surprise!’ cried Malberta. A party! There was poison ivy punch and lizard tongue trail mix. There was bobbing for crawdads and a Pin the Drool on the Ghoul game. But there was no one to play with. Where were the other party guests?”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



“‘Here we are!’ shouted ten vultures, nine rats, eight spiders, seven fruit bats, six mummies, five goblins, four ghosts, three witches, two skeletons, and one coal-black cat with an itchy-twitchy tail. Malberta’s friends! They were invited, too.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



Cover dummy and final cover
(Click dummy image to enlarge)


 

Art from Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s
Dog and Bear: Tricks and Treats
(Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, August 2014)
















 

Art from J. Patrick Lewis’
M is for Monster: A Fantastic Creatures Alphabet,
illustrated by Gerald Kelley
(Sleeping Bear Press, August 2014)


 




 



 

Art from Harriet Muncaster’s
I Am a Witch’s Cat
(Harper, July 2014)


 


“I know my mom is a witch because she keeps lots of strange potion bottles
in the bathroom that I am NOT allowed to touch.”
(Click to see spread in its entirety)


“And when we go shopping, she buys jars of EYEBALLS and GREEN FINGERS.”
(Click to see spread in its entirety)


“I know my mom is a witch because she grows magical herbs in the garden …”
(Click to see spread in its entirety)


“I know my mom is a witch because once a week she gets out her broomstick and whirls it around my room. Sometimes she lets me have a ride.
That is the BEST thing about being a witch’s cat.”
(Click to enlarge)


“On Friday nights my mom goes out and the babysitter comes. I don’t mind,
because the babysitter is nice.”
(Click to enlarge)


“She lets me watch TV and eat popcorn until it is time to go to bed.”
(Click to see spread in its entirety)



 

* * * * * * *

DOG AND BEAR: TRICKS AND TREATS. Copyright © 2014 by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Published by Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press, New York. Artwork reproduced by permission of Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

I AM A WITCH’S CAT. Copyright © 2014 by Harriet Muncaster. Published by Harper, New York. Artwork reproduced by permission of Harriet Muncaster.

M IS FOR MONSTER: A FANTASTIC CREATURES ALPHABET. Copyright © 2014 by J. Patrick Lewis. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Gerald Kelley. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sleeping Bear Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

NOT VERY SCARY. Copyright © 2014 by Carol Brendler. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Greg Pizzoli. Published by Farrar Straus Giroux, New York. Dummy images and art reproduced by permission of Greg Pizzoli.





3 comments to “What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week (the Halloween Edition), Featuring Gerald Kelley, Harriet Muncaster,
Greg Pizzoli, and Laura Vaccaro Seeger”

  1. Thanks for the Halloweenie art bonanza. I am LOVING Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s book!!

         by jama October 24th, 2014 at 4:33 am

  2. love catching up on the halloweenie art! I Am A Witch’s Cat and Not Very Scary were both part of our story time haul;)

         by Mary Uhles November 3rd, 2014 at 12:00 am

  3. […] basically three weeks to put the whole thing together, not to mention the approaching deadline of Not Very Scary—forced me to simplify everything. I approached each spread or illustration like it was an […]

         by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Blog Archive » From Zine to Picture Book: Greg PizzoliDiscusses the Making of Tricky Vic March 3rd, 2015 at 9:16 am

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