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What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week, Plus What I
Did Last Week, Featuring Too Many Artists to List Here

h1 May 27th, 2016 by jules



 

Today at Kirkus, I’ve got something a bit different — a thank-you to teachers who read aloud in the classroom. That is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote a Fall Picture Book preview (that is here), so today I’ve got a bit of art from each book. Well, there’s one exception: I’m going to write more later about Vera B. Williams’s Home at Last (Greenwillow, September 2016), illustrated by Chris Raschka. But today I have art from:

And I’m opening the post with an image from Bob Shea’s The Happiest Book Ever! (Disney-Hyperion, October 2016). (There’s one more illustration and the book cover below.)

Enjoy!



 

From Radiant Child:
The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat:


 


“In his house you can tell a serious ARTIST dwells. As he sits at a table with pencils scattered everywhere, Jean-Michel draws from morning until night with a serious face amid a storm of papers. He refuses to sleep until he has created a masterpiece.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


“Jean-Michel, an artist among artists, never doubts one line, creating from a sound track that is all his own. People describe him as RADIANT, WILD, A GENIUS CHILD,
but in his heart he is king, so he draws crowns for himself and others he admires.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 



 

From Shy:


 


“treep treep troo-lee! It was the bird!”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


“But of course, he would have to speak to her first.
Shy took a deep breath. His heart thumped. He looked up …”
(Click to enlarge spread)


From Little Penguins:


 


“Mittens? Many mittens.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


“Socks? One for each foot! What about boots? Red ones.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


“Brrr. Let’s go home.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 



 

From Tek:
The Modern Cave Boy:


 


(Click to enlarge)


 


(Click to enlarge)


 



 

From We Found a Hat:


 


(Click to enlarge)


 


(Click to enlarge)


 



 

From Henry & Leo:


 


“The family walked until only a hint of the evening sun peered through the trees. ‘We’d better start back,’ said Mama. Henry was tired, so Papa carried him.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


(Click to enlarge spread)


 



 

From Preaching to the Chickens:
The Story of Young John Lewis:


 


“Everyone on the farm had work to do. ‘Work and put your trust in God,’
John’s mama liked to say, ‘and God’s gonna take care of his children. …'”
(Click to enlarge spread and read rest of text)


 


“In a soft voice, John would say to them, ‘Enjoy this day that God has given us.’
The chickens, looking straight at him, seemed to understand.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 


“As much as John loved spring, he loved church even more. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read rest of text)


 



 

From Six Dots:
A Story of Young Louis Braille:


 


“But the sun did not come. I sat by the window,
training my ears to do what my eyes could not. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read rest of text)


 


“My family did what they could. Papa made a wooden cane. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read rest of text)


 



(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)


 


“My new code used just six dots, arranged in two columns, like dominoes. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read rest of text)


 



 

From How This Book Was Made:


 



(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)


 


“Eventually my editor loved all my words. And I loved all my words.
Even the tiger, who had returned with a posse, loved all my words.”
(Click to enlarge spread)


 



 

From The Happiest Book Ever!:


 



 



 

* * * * * * *

THE HAPPIEST BOOK EVER! Copyright © 2016 by Bob Shea. Published by Disney-Hyperion, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Bob Shea.

HENRY & LEO. Copyright © 2016 by Pamela Zagarenski. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Pamela Zagarenski.

HOW THIS BOOK WAS MADE. Copyright © 2016 by Mac Barnett. Illustrations © 2016 by Adam Rex. Published by Disney-Hyperion, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Adam Rex.

LITTLE PENGUINS. Copyright © 2016 by Cynthia Rylant. Illustrations © 2016 by Christian Robinson. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Schwartz & Wade, New York.

PREACHING TO THE CHICKENS: THE STORY OF YOUNG JOHN LEWIS. Copyright © 2016 by Jabari Asim. Illustrations © 2016 by E. B. Lewis. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Nancy Paulsen Books, New York.

RADIANT CHILD: THE STORY OF YOUNG ARTIST JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT. Copyright © 2016 by Javaka Steptoe. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Little, Brown, New York.

SHY. Copyright © 2016 by Deborah Freedman. Published by Viking, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Deborah Freedman.

SIX DOTS: A STORY OF YOUNG LOUIS BRAILLE. Copyright © 2016 by Jen Bryant. Illustrations © 2016 by Boris Kulikov. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Knopf, New York.

TEK: THE MODERN CAVE BOY. Copyright © 2016 by Patrick McDonnell. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Little, Brown, New York.

WE FOUND A HAT. Copyright © 2016 by Jon Klassen. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.





8 comments to “What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week, Plus What I
Did Last Week, Featuring Too Many Artists to List Here”

  1. I am especially excited for Six Dots! I just love Jen Bryant’s pb bios!! I’m curious about Basquiat, and the art is stunning. Thanks for sharing these titles!!

         by Maria Gianferrari May 27th, 2016 at 8:18 am

  2. So fun! Happy Friday!

         by Little Willow May 27th, 2016 at 8:55 am

  3. Wonderful post. Great to compare style. Some of my favorites! Thank you.

         by Suzanne Kaufman May 27th, 2016 at 9:27 am

  4. What a truly lovely way to begin a rainy Friday … looking at the incredible artwork of some of my favorites. Can’t wait to see these fall books. They are stunning, each one of them! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

         by Sally Bender May 27th, 2016 at 10:05 am

  5. […] is here this morning. You can see art from the book at this 7-Imp post from earlier this […]

         by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Blog Archive » Jen Bryant on Six Dots September 1st, 2016 at 8:15 am

  6. […] from this book, so if you want to see some of E. B. Lewis’s exquisite art for the book, head here and scroll down a […]

         by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Blog Archive » My Kirkus Q&A with Jabari Asim October 13th, 2016 at 5:36 am

  7. […] picture books this year, and I wanted to ask him all about it. (You can see some spreads from it here in this May […]

         by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Blog Archive » Javaka Steptoe on Radiant Child December 23rd, 2016 at 11:11 am

  8. […] Bob Shea’s The Scariest Book Ever (Disney-Hyperion, July 2017). Remember last year’s The Happiest Book Ever? Well, now it’s time to get PETRIFIED. Maybe a bit panicky . […]

         by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Blog Archive » 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #546: Featuring Bob Shea August 6th, 2017 at 7:35 am

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