A Sneak Peek at Yellow Dog Blues
March 22nd, 2022 by jules
Here’s an early sneak peek at a picture book coming to shelves in September of this year — Alice Faye Duncan’s Yellow Dog Blues (Eerdmans), illustrated by Chris Raschka. I got to hear all about this book during this chat I had earlier this year with the author. It’s the lyrical story of Bo Willie, who is distraught to find the doghouse empty: The boy’s “puppy love” is gone. “Sometimes life is a mystery. Love is a mountain climb. The blues grabbed me like a shaking chill.”
Bo Willie asks his neighbors about the dog and eventually hitches a ride in Aunt Jessie’s Cadillac. They travel up Highway 61, straight through the Mississippi Delta, and spot several blues landmarks along the way. “It’s a story for kids,” Duncan told me back in January, “about abandonment and loss, but it’s also about joy and good times and music.”
As you can see in these spreads today, the illustrations include hand-stitching. Chris also shares some dummy images here today. I thank him for sharing.
Enjoy the sneak peek!
She got herself to thinking hard and followed common sense.
She parked her Caddy in Clarksdale at the Hicks’ tamale stand.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
Final art reproduced by permission of Eerdmans. Dummy images reproduced by permission of Chris Raschka.
Stunning work, Chris!
Incredible. So inventive and fresh. Perfect with the wonderful language!