Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Long ago in France, at the turn of the last century,
a little boy was born to be an adventurer.”

 
I’ve seen a small handful of picture books thus far here in 2014 that I think are truly exceptional, and today’s featured picture book is one of those.

I reviewed Peter Sís’ newest book, The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Farrar Straus Giroux, May 2014), over at BookPage. That review is here, and today I’m following up with some art from the book.

Enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry »

— From Cece Bell’s El Deafo (2014)

 

— From Candace Fleming’s Bulldozer’s Big Day,
illustrated by Eric Rohmann (2015)

 

— From Philip C. Stead’s Sebastian and the Balloon (2014)
(Click to enlarge)

 
Good morning, all. I dropped my plans for today to do something a little bit different. (Normally, on the first Sunday of each month, I feature the work of a student illustrator, but I’ll get back to that next month, promise.)

Philip and Erin Stead have created a new website, called Number Five Bus Presents: Conversations with Book People. The why of the whole endeavor is here, and you’ll see over on the main page the line-up of people they’ll be talking to in this, their first season. Here’s a clue as to the blog’s title, which is from the 2011 Caldecott winner, Phil and Erin’s A Sick Day for Amos McGee:

(Click to enlarge)

(Of course, I’m just guessing here, but I figured that must be where the five and the bus and all that goodness comes from.)

The other day, I mentioned this new site (a lovely place to visit, especially for picture book lovers) at places like Facebook and Twitter, but then I realized that I hadn’t actually mentioned it here at my own site. And let me tell you what, folks: The first interview with Eric Rohmann? It is very enjoyable, especially if you love picture books. (I keep saying that, don’t I?) Eric’s interview is here. It’s got decapitation and exploding pigs, to name but two highly entertaining moments. But it’s much, more more, and it’ll really get you thinking about picture books in many directions.

I thought I’d see if both Eric and Phil could give us a sneak-peek at upcoming books — in honor of this new site. They agreed! Phil added that author-illustrator Cece Bell’s interview will be posted on Monday, so I asked her if she wanted to play along today, and she said yes, too. She includes some pages from her upcoming graphic novel memoir, El Deafo, all about her hearing loss and childhood experiences with her hearing aid, the Phonic Ear.

Oh, and in my kicks, I have a new piece of fan-girl art from Jody Hewgill. (“Fan-girl” here means that I love the music of the subject of her piece, and I really love Jody’s art, too.)

So, let’s get right to it — some art sneak-peeks from each of them. I thank them for playing along. Read the rest of this entry »

(Click to enlarge)

 
Today over at Kirkus, I weigh in on the sounds of summer. That link is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote about Maira Kalman’s picture book biography of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything (Nancy Paulsen Books, January 2014). That link is here, and I’m following up today with some art from the book.

Enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry »

“I get to visit schools in different parts of the country to read and talk about my books. I see that poor schools in poor neighborhoods are mostly attended by Latino and African American students, while wealthy schools in wealthy neighborhoods are mostly attended by white children. Although Sylvia’s story happened 70 years ago, it is very relevant to children today.”

* * *

Over at Kirkus today, I talk to author-illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh, pictured here, about his newest picture book, Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (Abrams, May 2014). That link is here.

Next week, I’ll have some art from the book, as well as some sketches from Duncan.

Until tomorrow …

* * * * * * *

Photo of Duncan Tonatiuh used with permission of Abrams Books for Young Readers.

I think many people in the field of children’s lit would agree that author-illustrator Dan Santat is one of the hardest-working people out there. In fact, Minh Le at The Huffington Post said as much recently.

I also happen to think he’s one of the most talented. Carolyn Juris at The New York Times notes what I like the best about his work when she described his mixed-media illustrations as “wild-eyed” and looking “as though they could bound right off the page and onto the screen.” That wild energy is part and parcel of what makes his work so intriguing, and there is often a refreshing irreverence for what your typical grown-up thinks a picture book should be. And his comic timing? I think up-and-coming illustrators could learn a lot about such pacing by studying Santat’s illustrated titles.

His newest picture book, just out on shelves, is called The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (Little, Brown). It’s a wildly imaginative story of friendship, tender and restrained. “[W]hile his immense talent was always evident, Beekle takes his artistry to a new level,” Le adds over at The Huffington Post piece. Below, Dan shares artwork from this book, as well as some deleted scenes and rejected covers. Read the rest of this entry »

“And Mama Bear, being a mother, looked at each one of her three little bears,
hugged them all very, very tight, kissed the tops of their furry heads,
and forgave them. Then she brought them inside for a warm supper.”
(Click to enlarge)

 
Now, wouldn’t this have been the perfect post for Mother’s Day a couple Sundays back? Too bad I always do everything backwards.

This is art from David Soman’s Three Bears in a Boat, released just this past week by Dial Books for Young Readers. I reviewed this for BookPage, so if you want to read all about it, that link is here. I wanted to be sure to follow up with art. My very favorite illustration from the book is below, too.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

Illustration from LeUyen Pham’s A Piece of Cake

 

Illustration from Phyllis Rowand’s It Is Night,
illustrated by Laura Dronzek

 
This morning over at Kirkus, I write about Maira Kalman’s newest picture book, Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything (Nancy Paulsen Books, January 2014). That link is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote about LeUyen Pham’s A Piece of Cake (Balzer + Bray, May 2014) and Phyllis Rowand’s It Is Night (Greenwillow Books, April 2014), illustrated by Laura Dronzek. (As you may have read in the column, these are new illustrations from Dronzek; the book was originally both written and illustrated by Rowand in 1953.) That column is here, and today I follow up with some art from each book.

LeUyen also sent a few pieces of early digital art for the book, which ended up getting discarded, and I will include below what she wrote about creating the art. (I didn’t have room for all of her comments at the Kirkus piece last week.)

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

(Click to enlarge)

(Click each image to enlarge)

Over at Kirkus last week, I chatted with author-illustrator Jason Chin about his newest picture book, Gravity (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, April 2014). Today I’m following up with some art from the book, as well as some of the clay models and rejected endings that he mentioned in the column. (Rejected endings! It’s like DVD extras!)

That link is here, if you need a refresher as to what Chin was sharing about the creation of this book.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

Character study
(Click to enlarge)

Sketch

Final art: “It reappears in La La Land …
where the monsters live.”
(Click to enlarge)

Here’s a post for illustration lovers: Illustrator Daniel Salmieri is visiting to share some character sketches and dummy sketches (and final art) from Big Bad Bubble (Clarion, May 2014), the newest picture book from him and author Adam Rubin. Remember Dragons Love Tacos (2012), which I posted about here? That was a Rubin-Salmieri collaboration (and there have been others), which I still think is one of the funniest picture books you’ll ever read. Rubin and Salmieri have a distinctive sense of humor, and I was going to say something sweeping about how glad I am that they make picture books today, when I just read this from Publishers Weekly: “Rubin and Salmieri are two of the weirdest, funniest guys working in kids’ lit today.” Yep. That. I agree.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi, dear Imps. I’m going to be brief today. I’m actually typing this on Thursday night, since I’m heading out of town to a) see my nephew graduate from high school (I’m already teary-eyed about this, and I’m not even at the ceremony yet), and b) someone I used to babysit is all grown-up and I’m heading to her wedding. (Ditto on the tears.)

So, I’ll be skipping my kicks, though I always enjoy reading yours, so please do share. I do, however, have some art for you.

I’ve previously featured the work of Canadian author-illustrator Marianne Dubuc at 7-Imp — here and here. Her newest book, The Lion and the Bird (Enchanted Lion, May 2014), is a tender and moving story of friendship, first published in French in 2013 and translated by Claudia Z. Bedrick (intrepid leader of Enchanted Lion and possessor of exquisite taste). Maria Popova over at Brain Pickings writes that this book is an “ode to life’s moments between the words.” Oh, how I love that and wish I’d written it. That captures the book well. (You can read her entire post, also art-filled, about the book here, if you’re so inclined. She describes the book so wonderfully.)

The story is about a lion, who lives alone and one day finds a wounded bird. After nursing the bird lovingly, they become friends, and the bird stays on. Their friendship grows, but when Spring comes, Lion knows the bird must fly away. Lion adjusts to his loneliness, and then the following Winter, the bird returns.

But, as Popova notes in her piece, there’s so much to discover in the book’s artwork and the expert pacing of the story. I remember reading once in a theatre text in college that a play is interrupted silence. (I think it was a quote from a French playwright? I really should look this up.) Well, this story is interrupted silence. Dubuc does wonders here, not rushing the story, letting it breathe, inviting in child readers to be with Lion as he adjusts to his loneliness and melancholy after Bird leaves, as time marches on. A lot of the gentle pacing comes from Dubuc’s use of white space. (“White space—sometimes whole pages—speaks its own language of loss and hope,” writes the Kirkus review.) For instance, here’s very simply how we know that Bird has returned:

Read the rest of this entry »