Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 

It’s a pleasure to welcome author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier to 7-Imp today. He visits to discuss and share images (both preliminary images and final art) from his most recent books, all published this year.

One of these books, Fish and Sun, happens to be my favorite children’s book of 2021. Published back in June, it is an entry in HarperAlley’s “I Can Read” comics series (meaning, it’s what often gets labelled a graphic early reader). It is the story of the friendship forged when Fish, seeking sunlight and warmth and excitement atop the water, meets Sun — yet doesn’t quite understand Sun’s departure at day’s end. Fish’s inner turmoil makes way for exuberance in the end when Sun reappears the next day. Children learning to read, who are well past nailing object permanence, will be mesmerized by Fish’s dramatic inability (at least temporarily) to grasp it.

Sergio also discusses the third entry in his “Fox + Chick” early reader series — The Sleepover and Other Stories (Chronicle, May 2021). Fans of the series will be entertained by this set of three new stories, and if you aren’t familiar with the series, well … please rectify that as soon as you can and introduce the books to the children in your life. (You can see images from book one here and book two here.)

Sergio also illustrated Cynthia Rylant’s We Give Thanks (Beach Lane Books, September 2021), in which he extends the text in endlessly intriguing ways and which includes a glorious feast (one of my favorite things to see in picture books). The happy dining is not pictured below, but that’s all the more reason to find a copy of the book.

I thank Sergio for visiting. Let’s get to it. …

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Sergio: For Fish and Sun, I had this vague idea for some time of a friendship between the sun and a fish. When Andrew Arnold at HarperAlley asked me if I had any book projects that could work for the new “I Can Read Comics” series that was about to launch, I gave that idea a try as a comic book. I know I’m supposed to say “graphic novel,” but I feel like that term should apply to comics that actually have the weight and length of a novel. This is a short story for children who are beginning to read on their own. I’m now working on the finals for the next book in the series, which will be called Fish and Wave.

 

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At a certain point in the story, Fish tells his mother he is very sad because he is afraid he will not see his new friend Sun ever again. It’s interesting that a reviewer wrote that the mother reassures Fish, explaining that the sun comes back every day, which is not at all in the story. The mother doesn’t say anything at all to reassure Fish. After all, she is also a fish. What does a fish know about the sun?

 


“Then all of a sudden …”
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“Sun! Will I see you again?”
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“Fish! Sun!”
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I was hoping I could draw the “I Can Read” logo by hand, but they didn’t let me. Sob. At least I got to do the title by hand.

 


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Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories is the third book of the “Fox + Chick” series. When working on a series, it is most important, I think, to keep the quality of the stories even, so that nobody can say: Oh, look, Sergio is getting tired of these two. I hope I’m managing to avoid that! There is at least one more book coming out next year: Fox + Chick: Up and Down and Other Stories.

 


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Early sketch from the story “The Sleepover”:
“But Chick, I only have one bed. …”
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Early sketch from “The Hammer”:
“My hammer! I found my hammer! My beautiful hammer!”
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Early sketch from “The Surprise”:
“Fox, you should throw me a surprise birthday party today. …”
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Early sketch from “The Surprise”:
“No party hats, Fox. I always choke on my party hat. …”
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Early sketch from “The Surprise”:
“And it’s not even my birthday. …”
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Cover art
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Final art (sans text) for the title page spread of the story “The Sleepover”
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Final art (sans text) from the story “The Sleepover”:
“‘But Chick, I only have one bed.’ ‘It’s okay, Fox. I don’t mind sharing your bed with you.’ ‘Alright, Chick. But let’s go to sleep right away. I am tired.’ ‘No problem, Fox.'”
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Final art (sans text) from the story “The Surprise”:
“‘And it’s not even my birthday.’ ‘It’s not your birthday?!’ ‘No, Fox. My birthday is not
for a long time.’ ‘Well, that is a surprise.'”
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I had a good time working on Cynthia Rylant’s We Give Thanks. The fact that the text does not have precise descriptions of characters or places allowed me to create a whole world with my drawings. I am always grateful when that happens, when I have a lot of freedom to improvise.

 


Early sketch: “We give thanks for mittens and for coats and boots and hats.”
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Early sketch: “We give thanks for yellow dogs and yellow kitty cats.”
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Early sketch: “We give thanks for beetles, bees,
and spotted ladybugs.”
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A final spread (sans text):
“We give thanks for mittens and for coats and boots and hats.”
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A final spread (sans text):
“We give thanks for yellow dogs and yellow kitty cats.”
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Finally, this is my favorite drawing from Disegnini (which in Italian means little drawings). This little book was published by a very talented Italian graphic designer, Francesca Habe. You can see her whole production here.


 

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All images reproduced by permission of Sergio Ruzzier.