7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #745: Featuring Lucy Ruth Cummins
May 30th, 2021 by jules
Over at BookPage, I’ve a review of Curtis Manley’s The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures (Roaring Brook, June 2021), illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. As I note in the review, it’s a story that captures the experiences of quiet, observant, inquisitive children — those who may not be found in the midst of a big crowd at school but who are considerately looking out for those on the periphery.
That review is here, and below are some spreads from the book.
A job no one else seems to care about.”
THE RESCUER OF TINY CREATURES. Text copyright © 2021 by Curtis Manley. Illustrations © 2021 by Lucy Ruth Cummins and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Roaring Brook, New York.
Note for any new readers: 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.
1) Sadly, children’s literature lost two greats this week. Huge losses. But we are to find the kicks, right? I’m grateful for the life and legacy of Eric Carle …
2) … particularly the museum he left us.
3) And the work of Lois Ehlert. I got to interview her back in 2014 for BookPage (via phone, though I wish it’d been in person!), and she said to me on a chilly day early in the year: “It is these gray winter days that stir my creativity. I am so happy to stay in and work. I am sitting here right now with a bag of scraps on my drawing board. I have green paint underneath my fingernails. I am as happy as a clam.”
4) I like this tribute to Carle from Jon Klassen.
5) We’ve had a nest of robins in our rose bush for weeks now. The babies have been born! They have even flown away. But we got to see them first.
6) Emily Dickinson once said, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” My kick is recently reading a poem that made me feel that way.
7) Those children always on the look-out for vulnerable tiny creatures.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
I hope that Manley’s book with bring out all the small creature rescuers.
Jules, Thank you for sharing the kicks that share the joy and wonder of the two greats we lost this week. I am glad you found a poem that matches the Dickinson quote. Which poem?
My kicks:
1. My writing group.
2. Time on the deck.
3. Planting tomatoes.
4. Meeting with a former student.
5. A letter from a former student.
6. Checking in with the grandgirls.
7. Taking flowers to my veteran friends’ graves.
Have a good week.
Jone, we also planted tomatoes! I forgot that as a kick — we planted veggies and herbs. Sounds like you had a good, relaxing week. And it was this poem: https://poets.org/poem/raincoat.
I love this book, and love the kids looking out for the vulnerable. I cracked up at the kraken illustration and text – this book looks both sweet and funny.
Jules – hooray for poems that take the top off your head, the legacy of brilliant creators like Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, and the joy of getting to watch a robin’s nest through eggs, hatchlings, fledglings to empty nest.
Jone – hooray for time on the deck, planting tomatoes, and checking in with grandgirls and hearing from former students.
My kicks this week:
1) Much needed rain earlier this week.
2) A long weekend full of sunshine.
3) Made fresh guacamole – yum.
4) Hacks – Jean Smart is so good, and the writing and direction is so so good.
5) This tweet: https://twitter.com/AKBrews/status/1399068497200791562
6) I’ve been comfort-watching the old sitcom What I Like About You and Leslie Grossman is hysterical. Some of episodes are clunky but there are also moments of pure comedy and its been to watch.
7) Coming home and getting to hang out in the backyard with Daisy after a very long (and productive) day (and week!) on Friday. Grateful for her sweet silly self and our little backyard oasis.
7.5) Summer is here!
Have a great long weekend and week, Imps!
Happy Sunday, Imps! Hi Luth Ruth! Three cheers for fellow rescuers. 🙂
What beautiful tributes.
Jules: I’m glad the robins knew your home was a safe place for their family!
Jone: That’s so lovely.
Rachel: I love a good comfort watch. Hi Daisy!
My kicks from the past week:
1) Catch-up conversations
2) No obligations
3) Plans
4) Safety
5) Space
6) Consideration
7) Updates
Rachel, happy summer! Love your seventh kick, and Hacks is on my to-watch list.
Little Willow: The cat definitely enjoyed watching the robins from the window, but that’s as far he got. (He doesn’t go outside.) Hope your plans are exciting ones!
have a good week, you all!