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7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #785:
Featuring an International Collaboration

h1 March 6th, 2022 by jules


“WE WILL demand that everything we buy has a label that details its impact on Nature, People, and Planet. That way, we can choose to buy products
that help Nature, not hurt it.”
(Click image, illustrated by Musa Omusi, to enlarge)


 

Dear Imps, I’m typing this on Thursday, because my Friday and my weekend will be largely consumed with the 14th IBBY Regional 2022 conference in Nashville. IBBY is the Interational Board on Books for Young People, and I’m looking forward to the (masked and vaxxed!) gathering of people coming to this conference. (You can read more about it here.) I’m also looking forward to moderating Saturday’s panel discussion about international children’s books, a conversation with Angus Killick of Red Comet Press; Christopher Lloyd of What on Earth Books; John Mackey of the Publishing Task Force of the Italian Trade Agency; and Emma Radditz of Elsewhere Editions.

Today’s book is the latest from What on Earth Books. It’s Up to Us: Building a Brighter Future for Nature, People & Planet (February 2022) features art from 33 illustrators from around the world (and a foreword from The Prince of Wales). The book is divided into four sections: Nature, People, Planet, and Terra Carta. The latter is a “roadmap to sustainability” from the Prince of Wales and his Sustainable Markets Initiative. Here, Christopher Lloyd puts it in his own words — in a text that is, at turns, lyrical and plainspoken and consistently driven by the urge we all face to stop polluting the planet. (Did you read this week about this report?) The illustrators of this book include Peter Sís (who illustrates the endpapers), Owen Davey, Luisa Uribe, Fotini Tikkou, Paolo Domeniconi, Reza Dalvand, Kumiko Horibe, and many more — including the illustrators whose work you see below in this selection of spreads from the book.

 


“All living things nestle in our Earth’s thin outer layer, which is made up of three very precious things — the air, the soil, and the oceans. These give us the oxygen we breathe and the wind, water, and food that all life depends on.”
(Click spread, illustrated by Poonam Mistry, to enlarge)


 


“Humans find everthing we need in the Nature that surrounds us.”
(Click spread, illustrated by Syndey Smith, to enlarge)


 


“But, because there are nearly eight billion of us humans, all of this happy living has an ugly side. The way we usually make things and grow food releases pollution. This poisons the air and water and kills the tiny living things that keep our soil healthy.”
(Click spread, illustrated by Wesley Bedrosian, to enlarge)


 


“For a long time, people thought that because there were so many animals and plants, such a big wide ocean, and lots of air and soil, we could go on like this forever.
Other living things might suffer, but not us — ‘We’re people,’ we thought, ‘we’ll be okay!’ We forgot that we were Nature, too.”
(Click spread, illustrated by Rutu Modan, to enlarge)


 


(Click cover, illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên, to enlarge)


 

IT’S UP TO US: BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR NATURE, PEOPLE & PLANET (THE CHILDREN’S TERRA CARTA). Text by Christopher Lloyd copyright © 2021 by What on Earth Publishing Ltd. All illustrations here reproduced by permission of the publisher.

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *

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.

I do hope you all share your kicks today (and I’ll be back on Sunday to read them), but since I’m pressed for time this week and typing this on Thursday, I’ll say that my kicks, one to seven, are opportunities to attend conferences like this. I’ll admit to some pandemic anxiety — it’s my first conference in two years! — but I’m grateful they are taking so many safety precautions.

What are YOUR kicks this week?





5 comments to “7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #785:
Featuring an International Collaboration”

  1. What a much needed book in the world. The illustrations are beautiful.
    Jules, how fortunate to be attending IBBY. The book THINGS WE DO edited by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell is a fundraiser for IBBY’s Children Crisis Fund.
    My kicks:
    1. Plans for Poetry Month are afoot.
    2. Teaching poetry on Friday.
    3. A Former student’s Eagle Scout ceremony.
    4. Ice cream.
    5. Bird songs.
    6. Snuggles from Buster.
    7. The courage of the Ukrainian people.
    Have a good week.

         by Jone March 6th, 2022 at 9:16 am

  2. Good morning, Imps! Hello to all of the illustrators and storytellers around the world!

    Jules: Have fun at the conference! Congrats on being a moderator. Hope it went wonderfully.

    Jone: Happy approaching Poetry Month! Hi Buster! Ice cream is delicious.

    My kicks:
    1) Tomatoes
    2) Potatoes
    3) Trying
    4) Feeling
    5) Emotional wherewithal
    6) Steady
    7) Okay

         by Little Willow March 6th, 2022 at 9:43 am

  3. What a wonderful and necessary book! Love all of these vibrant illustrations.

    Jules – congrats and have fun at IBBY! Hope the panel was a smashing success.

    Jone – what a full week you had! Yay for ice cream, snuggles from Buster and the inspiring Ukrainian people.

    Little Willow – love all your kicks, especially 4-7. Emotional wherewithal is a wonderful kick.

    My kicks this week:
    1) Starting to feel like we are heading into Spring.
    2) Making it through a very rough week.
    3) Celebrating the end of the week with generous overtipping at coffee shops & restaurants.
    4) More celebrating by getting takeout from a neighborhood restuarant I hadn’t tried yet. (It was good!)
    5) Walks with Daisy that lead to fun outdoor visits with neighbors.
    6) The Oregon Court of Appeals issuing an opinion on Wednesday that reversed the conviction of a former client!!!
    7) Biggest kick – getting to call the client and tell them their conviction was reversed. Incredibly joyous moment. We were both giddy with happiness.
    7.5) The continuing bravery of the Ukrainian people.
    Bonus – Chef Jose Andres and WCF continuing to feed those in need, what a tremendous group of humans.

    Have a great week Imps!

         by Rachel March 6th, 2022 at 4:20 pm

  4. Jone, I second your last kick, and I can’t wait to see your plans for Poetry Month.

    Little Willow: One of my daughter’s nicknames has to do with potatoes and the other, tomatoes. Love that fifth kick.

    Rachel: Thanks! The panel discussion went well. I’m sorry you had a rough week, but at least you are facing a new one. Loooove that seventh kick. How rewarding. I hope this week is better for you.

         by jules March 6th, 2022 at 7:18 pm

  5. Jules! So glad the panel discussion went well. Thank you, and totally agree, nice to get a fresh start on a new week. Onward!

         by Rachel March 6th, 2022 at 11:50 pm

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