Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Ask me some more I likes.
How about some more I likes?
I like the color red. I like red everything.”
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Here’s a quick post to share a bit of artwork from Suzy Lee. On shelves now is a new picture book from Bernard Waber (published posthumously), called Ask Me (Houghton Mifflin, July 2015), and Suzy has provided the beautiful colored pencil illustrations.

In this book, a father and his daughter walk through a neighborhood, discussing what they see and what they like the best. “Ask me what I like,” says the girl. “Ask me what else I like,” she says later. “Ask me some more I likes,” she insists further. The girl talks about mostly the natural world—the colors she loves and the best things about being outside (birds and their nests, splishing in the rain, dragonflies, and much more), but she makes sure to include things like ice cream cones, words (she particularly likes “rain words”), and next Thursday. Next Thursday, you see, is her birthday. Her father tells her he’d never forget her birthday — “not even in a billion years.”

 

“And I like beetles, and bumblebees, and dragonflies. And I like flowers. No, I love flowers. Bees love flowers too. Right? Right. And bees make honey. Right? Right.”
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The text is this back-and-forth dialogue—the father’s words in a light purple font, and the girl’s in a black one, though it is sometimes challenging to discern the differences in font color—and Lee’s illustrations are relaxed and warm and colorful. (These are predominantly autumn colors; it’s interesting it’s seeing a summer release. After all, the girl likes “the color red. I like red everything.”) The girl’s world is one of love and reassurance; her day ends in her bed, her father kissing her goodnight:

Wait. Ask me something else.

What?

Ask me if I want another good night kiss.

Would you like another good night kiss?

Yes, I would like another good night kiss.

Good night.

Good night.

It’s a vibrantly-illustrated story about the father-daughter bond. Lovely.

 

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(Click to enlarge cover)

 

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ASK ME. Copyright © 2015 by Bernard Waber. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Suzy Lee. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.