What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week,
Featuring Edwin Fotheringham,
Juana Medina, and Stephen Savage
![h1](http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/wp-content/themes/impossiblethings/images/h1.gif)
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‘Buddy, ol’ pal, are we in luck!'”
— Spread (without text) from Jennifer Hamburg’s
Monkey and Duck Quack Up!,
illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
(Click to enlarge)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/S7small.jpg)
(Click to enlarge)
Today over at Kirkus, I write about the newest picture book from Michael Hall, called Red: A Crayon’s Story (Greenwillow Books, February 2015). That link is here.
Last week I wrote about three new picture books, geared at very young children — Jennifer Hamburg’s Monkey and Duck Quack Up!, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic, February 2015); Doreen Cronin’s Smick!, illustrated by Juana Medina (Viking, February 2015); and Stephen Savage’s Supertruck (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, January 2015).
I’ve got art and preliminary images from these books below.
Enjoy.
illustrated by Juana Medina
(click each to enlarge):
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/9780670785780_Smick_2small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/9780670785780_Smick_3small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/9780670785780_Smick_4small.jpg)
Stephen Savage’s Supertruck:
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/rough1use.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/rough2use.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/rough3use.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/failedCOVERSleft.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/failedCOVERSright.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/S9small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/S11small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/S12small.jpg)
Jennifer Hamburg’s
Monkey and Duck Quack Up!,
illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
(click each to enlarge):
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/ef1small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/ef2small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/ef3small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/ef4small.jpg)
from Monkey and Duck Quack Up!
(click each to enlarge):
Edwin: The only spread…that was changed fairly dramatically is Monkey on the boat doing activities. This began as a boat elevation cut-away that turned into spots of individual activities. There are four iterations: 1) cut-away view; 2) activities in color blocks (notice water slide and pool in right panels); 3) activities in color blocks, version two (pool becomes food buffet); and 4) final art with activities in bouncy bubbles (water slide becomes disco). In the final version, other characters (in silhouette) were added to make the cruise less like a ghost ship.
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/efz1small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/efprog3small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/efprog2small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/efprog1small.jpg)
Monkey and Duck Quack Up!:
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2015/01/QUACK int 2.13.14_R4small.jpg)
they wowed the crowd with one great rhyme …”
(Click to enlarge spread)
Illustrations from Monkey and Duck Quack Up! by Jennifer Hamburg. Illustrations © 2015 by Edwin Fotheringham. Used with permission from Scholastic Press.
SMICK! Copyright © 2015 by Doreen Cronin. Illustrations © 2015 by Juana Medina. Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Juana Medina and the publisher.
SUPERTRUCK. Copyright © 2015 by Stephen Savage. Published by Neal Porter Books, Roaring Brook Press, New York. All images reproduced by permission of Stephen Savage, pictured below.