Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 

It is a pleasure to have Ruth Chan visit 7-Imp today to share some preliminary images and final art (and neighbor photos!) from Thank You, Neighbor! (Harper, September 2021)

“Every day, we go for a walk,” the book opens. The child (who has, hands down, the best shirt) and pet dog you see pictured above take a walk through their truly diverse and inclusive neighborhood — taking their time (“even when the neighborhood is crowded”), stopping to say hello to neighbors, chatting with community workers (“our neighbors [that] keep us safe”), noticing how their neighbors take care of each other, and always saying “thank you,” even when things get busy. That’s the gist of the narrative here, and it somehow feels revolutionary in today’s world.

I love Chan’s crisp-lined illustrations in warm, candy colors. Take your time with this one; there are lots of delightful details to take in. (Here is the book’s closing note in which Ruth talks about her own Brooklyn neighborhood.) Ruth shares some illustrations below as well as some images from the making of the book. I thank her for visiting. (Oh! She also gives us all a peek at her next book.)

p.s. If you missed it this year, go find a copy of Adam Jay Epstein’s and Ruth’s wonderful Have You Seen Gordon? You can read more about it here in Betsy Bird’s post from yesterday on 2021 Unconventional Children’s Books.

THANK YOU, NEIGHBOR! Copyright © 2021 by Ruth Chan. Published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

All images reproduced by permission of Ruth Chan.