The Big Bath House

h1 November 11th, 2021    by jules



 
It was my pleasure to write over at BookPage about Kyo Maclear’s exquisite The Big Bath House (Random House Studio, November 2021), illustrated by Gracey Zhang. Head here to read more about this, one of my favorite picture books this year.

Here today at 7-Imp are some spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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The Great Stink:
A Conversation with Colleen Paeff and Nancy Carpenter

h1 November 9th, 2021    by jules



 
In the art-filled chat I bring you today with author Colleen Paeff and illustrator Nancy Carpenter, Colleen says of Nancy’s illustrations for The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem (Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2021): “The way she combines humor and historical detail with a dash of irreverence just feels so right for this story.” That comment stands out to me, because it’s how I’d describe this book as whole, one whose humor, historical detail, and dashes of irreverence — in both art and text — work together to tell an informative and entertaining story of just what the title tells you, what history calls “the Great Stink.”

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7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #768: Featuring Kevin Cornell

h1 November 7th, 2021    by jules


” … Everyone was happy to donate! Except the traveling clock repairman.”
(Click spread to enlarge)


 
I had the pleasure of writing about Kevin Cornell’s New in Town (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2021) over at the Horn Book.

You can read that here, and below are some spreads from the book.

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I Am Smoke

h1 November 4th, 2021    by jules


“I am smoke.
I twirl in dark dance from every campfire.”

(Click spread to enlarge)


 
Henry Herz’s I Am Smoke (Tilbury, September 2021), illustrated by Mercè López, is a picture book you may have already heard a lot about this year. It has received a handful of good reviews — and even made Travis Jonker’s list of The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Books of 2021.

And why did it make Travis’s list? Here’s what he wrote:

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Picture Book-Reading in 2021

h1 November 2nd, 2021    by jules


What has your year looked like in terms of picture book-reading? This is the question we’re asking over at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott today. Given the pandemic, which has meant more picture books as PDFs (for reviewers anyway) and delays in shipping, have you had trouble getting your hands on the picture books you want to see? Or have you been able to hold picture books in your hands and appreciate them in all their physical glory (as pictured above)?

Come join the conversation here!

7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #767: Featuring Matthew Forsythe

h1 October 31st, 2021    by jules



 
Happy Halloween, dear Imps!

I don’t have a picture book for you all today, because I want to take a moment to share a bit of news I just learned. (I’m slow, and you all may already know this!) It wasn’t till I was goofing around on Instagram yesterday that I learned that illustrator Matthew Forsythe designed the upcoming new short film from Aardman (coming to Netflix in November). Robin Robin is what Forsythe describes as a holiday musical (directed by Dan Ojari and Michael Please). If you head to Forsythe’s page at Instagram, you can see some of his design work (in a few of his more recent posts). One of those images is pictured above.

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“Tell Me Another Story”

h1 October 28th, 2021    by jules



 

If you missed it last week, please be sure to take a look at the new documentary about diversity in children’s literature from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, “Tell Me Another Story.” It’s 30 minutes, and it’s free.

Here is more information about it at their site.

Room for Everyone

h1 October 26th, 2021    by jules



 
Over at BookPage, I’ve got a review of Naaz Khan’s Room for Everyone (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, November 2021), illustrated by Mercè López.

That review is here, and below are some spreads.

Enjoy!

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Dear Treefrog

h1 October 25th, 2021    by jules


(Click cover to enlarge)


 

I love to read the thoughts of professor and poetry advocate Sylvia Vardell, and today at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott she writes about a picture book I’ve yet to cover here at 7-Imp. So I’m sending you to Sylvia’s post.

Sylvia takes a deep dive here into Joyce Sidman’s delightful Dear Treefrog, illustrated by Diana Sudyka. Enjoy!

(P.S. Here’s where to get caught up on all the other picture book posts over there.)

7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #766: Featuring Oge Mora

h1 October 24th, 2021    by jules



 
I’ve a review over at BookPage of Anne Wynter’s spectacular debut picture book, Everybody in the Red Brick Building (Balzer + Bray, October 2021), illustrated by Oge Mora.

You can read that here, and below are some of Mora’s dynamic spreads.

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