Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week,
Featuring Sebastian Meschenmoser and Matt Phelan

April 13th, 2018 by jules

— From Matt Phelan’s Pignic

— From Sebastian Meschenmoser’s It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel!

Over at Kirkus today, I write about two new picture books, one about true love and the other, about turtle towns. Yep, turtle towns.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Matt Phelan’s Pignic (Greenwillow, March 2018) and Sebastian Meschenmoser’s It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel! (NorthSouth, February 2018). I’m following up with some art today, and Matt even sent along some preliminary artwork.

Enjoy!

From Pignic:

Matt’s thumbnail break-down
(Click to enlarge)

Some preliminary art

Matt: “I wanted to keep this book as simple as possible. The dummy sketches [pictured above] were drawn very small, using mostly Derwent Inktense pencils and a water brush. It’s a very loose and immediate way to work,
and I tried to bring that same approach to the final illustrations.”
(Click above image to enlarge)

An illustration from the title page spread

A final spread: “It’s a perfect day for a pignic.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

Final art

From It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel!

“Mr. Squirrel woke up one morning to find that the world had changed!”
(Click to enlarge spread)

(Click to enlarge and see spread in its entirety)

(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)

“‘And after all, spring has only just begun.'”
(Click to enlarge spread)

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IT’S SPRINGTIME, MR. SQUIRREL! Copyright © 2018 by Esslinger in Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag. English translation copyright © 2018 by NorthSouth Books, Inc. Illustrations reproduced by permission of NorthSouth Books.