Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 
I don’t have illustrations for you today, dear Imps, as I normally do. But I want to take a moment to highlight a book that will be on shelves next week — This Is Your Time (Random House), written by civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges.

This is a short (64 pages) and small but powerful book. Ruby Bridges, as you know if you know your American history, was the first Black student—at the age of six—to desegregate an all-white elementary school. We’ve all seen the images of Ruby being escorted by four federal marshals on her first day at William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans on November 14, 1960. Ruby was the subject of the Norman Rockwell painting on this book’s cover.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Clouds and treetops are their homes, / airy houses all their own.
Could a friend be waiting for me? / Too hoo, too hoo. / Coo coo, coo coo.”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
I’ve a review over at the Horn Book of Chris Raschka’s beautiful In the City (Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, September 2020).

That is here.

Below are some more spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

(Click cover to enlarge)

 

Today, I have the pleasure of writing about Kate Messner’s The Next President, illustrated by Adam Rex, over at the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott.

That is here.

As a reminder, I shared some illustrations from this book—and Adam shared some early sketches—back here in February.

 
Today, author-illustrator Sarah Williamson visits to talk about creating Elevator Bird (Knopf), which will be on shelves in late November. I’ll let her tell you about the story below.

Sarah’s brightly colored illustrations are filled with the kinds of little offbeat details that make this a book that children will pore over. And fans of the Eloise books may be especially delighted, given the book’s posh hotel setting. Sarah shares some spreads below, as well as some early sketches from the book.

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

Read the rest of this entry »

Early sketch

 

A final spread: “When you travel to the moon, you must go very fast, faster than
you’ve ever gone. The Earth, far behind you, looks like a marble.”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
I’ve a review over at BookPage of Maggie Pouncey’s A Fort on the Moon (Neal Porter Books, November 2020), illustrated by Larry Day. I looooove this one, but I guess you can go read my review—which is here—if you’re so inclined to find out why.

Below are some illustrations from the book, and Larry also visits to share some preliminary images, including some original thumbnail sketches. “They were in color from the beginning,” he tells me. “I felt color was going to play a big part of this story. That helped.”

Big thanks to Larry for sharing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I welcome author-illustrator Irene Luxbacher, who talks about her newest picture book, Once I Was a Bear (Scholastic, September 2020), and how her child with autism inspired it. The book tells a story of transition and transformation—one of a bear in the woods, at one with nature, who wakes up to find himself in a big city and heading to his first day of school. (After all, there’s a boy in that bear.)

It’s a tender story of seeking understanding, rendered in soft-focus but vivid colors. A selection of spreads are included below.

I’ll hand it over to Irene. I thank her for sharing.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Black Heroes of the Wild West: Featuring Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons, released by Toon Graphics last month, is the first book that James Otis Smith has both written and illustrated. It’s a book that shines a light on Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons—in three separate sets of comics. But there’s also a good deal of additional information provided, particularly in the book’s detailed backmatter. It all adds up to a book that gives readers a perspective on U.S. history that is not often seen and spotlights Black figures in history that have been routinely overlooked. The caption for the painting A Dash for the Timber (1889), which is included in the book’s introduction, says it all: ” … [R]enowned painter of the West Frederic S. Remington shows cowboys as a group of white men. In fact, a large number were Mexican or Native American, and as many as one-third were African American.”

Read the rest of this entry »

 
I know we see a lot of snowman-friend-melts stories in children’s lit, but Robert Broder’s Crow and Snow (Simon & Schuster, October 2020), illustrated by Olivier Tallec, handles the trope in a way I find truly funny and moving. I reviewed it at BookPage.

That review is here, and you can see some spreads from the book below.

Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

“Breath blooms / at tree tips,
like sprouting leaves / on lush spring stems.”
(Click spread to enlarge)

 
I’ve a Q&A over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16 with local (to me) artist and illustrator Billy Renkl, who—as you will read if you are so inclined to head over to the Q&A—has great respect for the materials he uses to create his layered collage pieces.

Billy has illustrated his first picture book, Diana Farid’s When You Breathe (Cameron Kids, September 2020).

The Q&A is here, and below are some more spreads from the book.

(And if you want to see a bit of his process, head here and click through those photos.)

Read the rest of this entry »

 
Author-illustrator Matt Phelan visits today to talk a bit about his playful new picture book for very young readers, Turtle Walk (Greenwillow, October 2020). Librarians and educators, take note: This is your next best pick for storytime for your youngest patrons and students.

Matt, as he notes below, likes the “challenge of making something that is clear and simple, yet can be read again and again.” This particular story—one in which small turtles, much like small children, amble through a year, taking in everything around them (and in a palette of vivid, rich colors)—was inspired by his daughter. He visits today to talk about that and share some images from the creation of the book. As always, a few final illustrations are included here as well.

Thanks to Matt for visiting!

Read the rest of this entry »