Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

It’s the first Sunday of the month, dear Imps, which means featuring the work of a student or debut illustrator. Today Aram Kim visits, and it’s great to see her here, especially since she has come kickin’ with us before on previous occasions.

Aram’s new book is out (from Holiday House), but I’ll let her tell you about it below — and why she loves doing what she does. I thank her for visiting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I wrote here about Candace Fleming’s Giant Squid, illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, September 2016); Elise Gravel’s The Great Antonio (TOON Books, October 2016); the reprint of Roger Duvoisin’s The Happy Hunter (Enchanted Lion, October 2016); Maribeth Boelts’s A Bike Like Sergio’s, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones (Candlewick, October 2016); and Richard Jackson’s In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, September 2016).

I’ve got some art from each book today, and Eric Rohmann also shares some preliminary images (one even going as far back as childhood).

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

Since I always like to follow up these conversations with art, pictured here today are some illustrations from the book.

Enjoy.
Read the rest of this entry »

 
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Carson Ellis’s newest picture book, Du Iz Tak? (Candlewick, October 2016).

The review is here, and today Carson shares some preliminary images from book. I’ve got a bit of final art as well. Pictured above is an early character study.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

 
In the spirit of Halloween, British author-illustrator Harriet Muncaster visits 7-Imp today to tell us all about her series, Isadora Moon, which features a girl who is half-vampire and half-fairy.

Let’s get right to it, and I thank her for visiting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I wrote here about Lauren Stringer’s Yellow Time (Beach Lane, September 2016) and Philip Stead’s Samson in the Snow (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, September 2016). Today, Lauren shares some art from the book, as well as some early sketches and studio views of the process of making the book. (Phil will visit 7-Imp relatively soon to chat about Samson and share images.)

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got a Q&A with author David Jacobson about Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko, illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri and translated by Jacobson, Sally Ito, and Michiko Tsuboi (Chin Music Press, September 2016). Next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll follow up with some spreads from the book.

The Q&A is here.

Until tomorrow . . .

 

Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I talk to author and Barefoot Books’ Senior Editor, Kate DePalma, about The Barefoot Book of Children, which celebrates the cultures of children all over the globe. You can click on the image above to read our chat.

 
Pictured above is a study, painted in oil, of the cat from Edward Hemingway’s Field Guide to the Grumpasaurus. This study, Edward says, helped him create the final color palette for the book.

Grumpasaurus, which Kirkus described as an “effervescent how-to for the wrangling of fearsome, tantrum-prone beasties,” was released by Clarion back in June, and around that time Edward and I talked about him visiting 7-Imp. But a move to a new home this summer delayed my plans. Mr. Hemingway was very patient with me, though, and I’m glad he’s finally here today. Also released this past Summer was F. L. Block’s My Miserable Life (Henry Holt), for which Edward created the cover and interior illustrations.

We talk about both books below, as well as what’s next for him. (I also asked for some book recommendations and was rewarded.) I thank him for visiting. Let’s get to it.

Read the rest of this entry »

7-Imp may be, for all intents and purposes, an art site, but today I’ve got some words for you. (Okay, some art too.) More specifically, Christoph Niemann’s Words, released this month from Greenwillow Books.

I love this one, which makes a great book for emerging readers to browse (if I could, I’d leave copies in every Kindergarten classroom in the country), as well as a great book for those learning English as a second language. To be sure, though, it’s a smart and fun book for everyone. In it, Niemann has illustrated more than 300 words in bold, black lines he drew in Adobe Photoshop. Each page features one word, and Niemann doesn’t desert any parts of speech. (Be sure to look for his illustrations of parts of speech at the book’s close.) How would you draw “there” and “those”? “Did” and “real”? “Almost”? “Will” (the verb, that is)? Tough ones, huh? Niemann’s got you covered here with clever, thoughtful renderings of words in the English language, sometimes pairing homonymns on one spread (“duck” showing the creature and then “duck” showing a duck ducking!).

Read the rest of this entry »