Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Look at this moment of loveliness above, brought to us by illustrator Kevin Hawkes. I am such a fan of his work, so I’m pleased to share a couple of illustrations from his most recent illustrated title, what Publishers Weekly calls a “cheeky yet informative biography,” The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum (Knopf Books for Young Readers, September ’08), written by the very talented author of a whole slew, to be precise, of award-winning biographies for children, Kathleen Krull. And, as someone who has a big honkin’ space in her heart devoted to the Oz characters (translated: as a child, I was obsessed with the books and film adaptation)—even though I’d agree with Trull in her Storyteller’s Note at the close of this book that “the quality of {Baum’s} books was uneven”—I love that stunning opening illustration, in particular. School Library Journal wrote about Hawkes’ work in this book, “Hawkes’s merry paintings of the author and his characters invoke the magic of Oz within the great author’s real-world setting.” Merry, indeed.

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I really want this post to be my thoughts on M.T. Anderson’s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves, which is being released tomorrow, the 14th. But, nooooo, I’m a slow reader these days, what with a busier schedule, and I’m still re-reading Octavian I so that I can be fully prepared for Octavian II. It’s just taking longer than I thought, as in I HARDLY deserve this ARC I’ve had since, whew, June or something. I believe Eisha’s read the sequel, and—once I’m done—perhaps we can co-review, just as we did the first one (back in our newborn days of blogging. I mean, wow, that’s kinda old. We weren’t even sitting up then and we probably still had those weird fontanelles on our heads).

But the least I can do is remind those fans of the prequel that the second book is released tomorrow, not something I normally announce, but I’m excited about reading this one. If you finish it before I do, what with my snail-paced reading rate of late—or have already read it—then do come and tell us what you think. We’d love that.

In the meantime, you have two things to tide you over: Our March ’07 interview with Anderson, which remains one of my favorites, which is one of the first author interviews we ever did, and in which he’s holding my disembodied head AND you have this recent video of him talking very briefly about the sequel. Many thanks to Adrienne for that video link.

There are also these early (online) reviews — just a handful of many, I’m sure:

• Marvin Hoffman in The Houston Chronicle (Chron.com); October 10, ’08;
• The Horn Book’s September/October ’08 issue
• Sarah Stevenson at Guys Lit Wire; September ’08
• The Picnic Basket; August 12, ’08
• Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!; April 2008

There’s also this link. Before anyone screams at me for it being the link to a huge bookchain and not an independent bookstore, please note it has four reviews from KLIATT, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus — as well as an older audio interview (approximately thirty minutes) with the author.

Jules: Welcome to our 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.

This week we’re going to take a break from featuring a children’s book illustrator (but will get back on the illustration track next week with Dan Santat) and feature the work of Nashville artist (and serious Haven Kimmel fan), Sher Fick. To the left here is her self-portrait. Sher, who received her B.F.A. in Fine Art (Painting/Sculpture/Art History), has worked as an art teacher, muralist, freelance artist, and museum curator. She has also worked on projects with Nashville artist Adrienne Outlaw.

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Yesterday would have been my brother Donnie’s 38th birthday. I miss him fiercely.

He was many wonderful things to many people and brightened others’ lives in many ways, and one of the things he did was play classical guitar. He had just taken a break from earning his doctorate at The University of Memphis when he died. He made beautiful music. There are lots of pictures of him at recitals, all decked out in a tux. But this battered old one here, which I just scanned after I pulled it out of its frame, has always been my favorite. It’s a picture of him that someone snapped probably without him knowing it. He’s playing on the back deck of the little house we lived in when we were in high school. Bless my soul and yours, too, wasn’t he handsome?

This poem has always made me think of the way he played. I think I’ve shared it before here—maybe possibly perhaps—but it’s a beautiful piece of writing, always worth sharing again: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m so pleased that British illustrator Mini Grey has stopped by for breakfast this morning here at 7-Imp. If you were to ask me who I thought some of the most inventive, imaginative illustrators working today were, why, Mini’s name would most assuredly come up. She’s a favorite of mine, delivering mixed-media visual treats at each turn, whether it’s the detailed world of the unstoppable Traction Man, what Publishers Weekly called the swashbucklin’ nursery-rhyme romance of The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, or the cookie carnage of Ginger Bear. Best of all, there is a slightly twisted humor to her work, which I love, a twinkle in the eye, a little bit of mischief, a refusal to talk down to children. She always intriques, and she always keeps you on your toes.

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Remember how “RIF” in my world really stands for “Random Illustrator Feature”? Well, I’m back with another RIF, this time with an illustrator who visited us once before. This week, I saw a copy of Laurel Snyder’s first picture book, Inside the Slidy Diner (Tricycle Press, October 2008), illustrated by Jaime Zollars. Jaime stopped by 7-Imp this past February to show us some of her beguiling art work but wasn’t able to share Slidy Diner art at that time, so she’s stopped by today to share some.

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This has nothing to do with books, but I enjoy this so much that I’m going to post it here — bring it out of its obscurity, buried in the comments from yesterday’s post, and feature it here. Thanks to Kathe, one of our readers, for sharing it. I found this a great way to start my week, as in: People on the West Coast may have heard me hoot-laughing.

Here’s the link from which it comes. This is Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft,” as performed by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain:

Jules: Welcome to our 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.

It’s the first Sunday of the month, so it’s time to feature a new or student illustrator. Today we welcome Lauren Minco, an illustrator who balances teaching, freelance illustration, and showing her work in galleries. Here are a few words from Lauren, and how about that mysterious mermaid above?

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I just saw Charles Simic, recent Poet Laureate, give a reading at Cornell. He was amazing. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t expect him to be so… funny. I don’t think I really got his poetry until I heard him read it. He’s got this fabulous mix of accents from a well-traveled life: childhood in Yugoslavia, youth in New York City and Chicago, and now he lives in rural New Hampshire. And in a brusque, matter-of-fact, self-deprecating way, he told these stories about how he came to write the poems he read. For example, his book of prose poetry, The World Doesn’t End, came about because he had to write a four-page autobiography for an encyclopedia, and he kept imagining “more interesting versions” of his own life. His delivery just made everything click for me. As the professor who introduced him said, if you are not familiar with his poetry and books, your life is diminished – but don’t worry, that’s what bookstores and libraries are for. I would have added – and Poetry Friday.

So here I am, doing my part, sharing one of the poems he read. It has now become one of my favorites, for obvious reasons. It’s called “In the Library”:

There’s a book called
“A Dictionary of Angels.”
No one has opened it in fifty years,
I know, because when I did,
The covers creaked, the pages
Crumbled. There I discovered

The angels were once as plentiful
As species of flies.
The sky at dusk
Used to be thick with them.
You had to wave both arms
Just to keep them away.

Click here to read the rest, so you’ll know what I mean when I say:

Oh yes, the books are whispering. I hear them too, Miss Jones.

Guess who’s on Poetry Friday round-up? It’s Stacey and Ruth at Two Writing Teachers. Ya’ll know it’ll be good.

If you’re a fan of Paul O. Zelinsky’s work, you’re in for a real treat today. Not only did he stop by 7-Imp for breakfast this morning, but he is also over at Just One More Book!! today, chatting with, arguably (or probably not arguably), the hardest working bloggers in the kidlitosphere, Andrea and Mark. Oh for heaven’s sake, do NOT NOT NOT miss that podcast, because Mark and Andrea always bring the goods. Plus some.

And what an honor that he stopped by to chat with us as well. I mean, I’m downright giddy. Over at his website bio, you will read that his first book appeared in 1978 (as well as the fact that, as a sophomore at Yale, he enrolled in a course on the history and practice of the picture book, co-taught by MAURICE SENDAK, whose name I am, yes, yelling, ’cause I find that very exciting), “since which time he has become recognized as one of the most inventive and critically successful artists in the field.” Isn’t that the truth, while also almost sounding like an understatement? How about what Publishers’ Weekly once wrote about him: “Zelinsky is that rare practitioner who can create sophisticated work that adults will marvel at, and that children will joyfully embrace.” Yes, throw in that fan love—adults and children alike—which he has garnered, and…well, you can understand why I’m giddy. He has illustrated or adapted-and-illustrated so many books that we at 7-Imp adore and love and adore some more — as well as lots of other librarians all over the world. Zelinsky has said before, “I’ve…decided that I should be recognized by my unrecognizability.” And some would argue he, indeed, does that well, that his illustrations integrate so well with the text of the book he’s bringing to life with his art, that his versatility is second-to-none. Or, as he once told the Horn Book, he tries to “make the book talk, as it talks to me, and not worry whether it is in my style or not…. I get a kick out of doing each book differently.”

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