Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

{Note: Please see the post below for today’s Robert’s Snow schedule!}

Jules here. Happy Poetry Friday to all!

We’re doing something new here at 7-Imp, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while. My good friend, Mr. Shannon Collins, is taking my place for this Poetry Friday entry today (that’s not him pictured here; that’s poet Bill Brown). ‘Cause I asked Shannon if he’d like to do so. ‘Cause he and Eisha are my True Poetry Friends, my poetry-geek peeps. In fact, we used to have — in pre-blog days — a random email poetry exchange.

And I’ve been runnin’ my mouth about literature and poetry with Shannon, whom I met over ten years ago when I was a beginning sign language interpreter (Shannon is also a hand-flapper, and we met while team interpreting a course at The University of Tennessee), since day one. Our paths have followed a similar arc: We both started out as sign language interpreters (Shannon was also, once upon a time, an AMAZING teacher of language arts in the Tennessee School for the Deaf’s middle school department. In fact, Shannon was once named one of Tennessee’s Outstanding Teachers of the Humanities, though he’s probably cringing as I brag on him). And then we both have found ourselves today working more closely with books and literacy: Shannon is now a professor of literacy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Tennessee Technological University. He also serves on the editorial review boards for The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and The English Journal, and he is currently a member of the Promising Young Writers Advisory Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English. And much more. And he’s smart as hell and funny and fun and has a real passion for poetry and children’s and YA lit as well.

Shannon is also a poet himself (and a published one, at that), and if he ever wanted to share one of his poems with us, well . . . he can consider me honored in advance, should he ever find himself inclined to do so. He’s shared a few poems with me before, and they were really, really good. Each time, I felt really blessed (does that sound like a bit much? Well, I mean it) that he shared them with me. Kind of giddy, too, like I was special. Like I was being given a gift just to have the opportunity to see and read them.

So, when I asked if he’d ever like to be my guest at one of my Poetry Friday entries (and I wouldn’t ask just any ‘ol person that) and he agreed, I was thrilled. I gave him no instructions, ’cause I trusted him to deliver with an entry both beautiful and thought-provoking. And deliver he does. Here’s what he has to contribute, and I’d like to thank Shannon, especially since he has the world’s busiest schedule.

To begin, I give a huge, appreciative nod to Jules and Eisha for allowing me the opportunity to share a few words and, most importantly, a poem. Poetry, like an occasional pint of Guinness, nearly topples into the basket of items that are necessary for life. Even if “necessity” is not quite the status of poetry, I don’t want to go too long without a poem or two. This has not always been the case. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Friday, October 19 (pictured here is Christopher Denise’s ’04 snowflake, “Early Snow.” I’m tellin ya’, folks, these snowflakes are too. much. fun. I just had to pick myself up off the floor after seeing this older snowflake. Oliver Finds His Way is one of my favorite picture books ever — and, yes! O! Yes! We will be featuring an interview soon with Phyllis Root, who tells us all about the writing of that book, but I digress. I had no idea this snowflake even existed. Just look at Oliver there!) . . .

In this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

* Graeme Base, featured by Andrea and Mark at Just One More Book

* Denise Fleming, featured by Pamela Coughlan (a.k.a. MotherReader) at MotherReader

* Jeff Mack, featured by Gina Ruiz at AmoXcalli and at Cuentecitos

* Jeff Newman, featured by Franki and Mary Lee at A Year of Reading

* Ruth Sanderson, featured by Camille Powell at BookMoot

Did you see yesterday’s features? It was sort of like the ’80s edition, what with discussions of Jennifer Thermes’ big ’80s ‘do and Sam Riddleburger asking Erin Eitter Kono what her favorite post-’80s music video is. And just look at Henry ice skating from this feature of D.B. Johnson at Elisabeth Rose Gruner’s Lessons from the Tortoise. Oh my, does it get any better than Henry? . . . All the features were wonderful. Man, you bloggers are fabulous. What a great Week One it’s been for this Blogging for a Cure effort. Thank you all for making this entire event run so smoothly, for all the work you’ve put into it, and for all your interesting write-ups (and don’t forget that these features run every day ’til the day before the first auction. That means Saturdays and Sundays, too. So, hey, the week’s not over yet, friends. It will be cyber-snowing tomorrow and Sunday, too).

Also, check this out: Kris Bordessa from Paradise Found has compiled a list of the wonderful give-aways that bloggers and illustrators have provided thus far in the Blogging for a Cure effort. You can read it here. Thanks, Kris! There are some generous, lovely gifts available for you Picture Book Nerds (I say that lovingly; I, myself, am the worst offender of Picture Book Nerd-dom).

Don’t forget this new page here at 7-Imp, which lists all the illustrator features thus far in one spot, and it’s turning into a handy-dandy, way-cool illustrator resource for us nerds. I update it daily.

Hoo boy, let it keep snowing!

{Note: Please see the post below for today’s Robert’s Snow schedule!}

Hi, everyone. If you missed our earlier announcement, 7-Imp is currently guest blogging at ForeWord Magazine at their Shelf Space column (“Booksellers and Librarians talk about what’s in their reading room and what’s on the horizon”) for the next few weeks. Eisha took week one with some YA novel reviews, and this week I’ve got reviews of four middle-grade/early YA novels up. It’s called “Middle-Grade Novel Round-Up: Or, The Only Place You’ll See Joey Pigza, Camels, a Tangled Mass of Fairy Tale Green, and Banjos in One Post,” and it’s here. The novels I review are:

* Camel Rider by Prue Mason (Charlesbridge; June 2007; review copy);

* Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst (Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers; June 2007; review copy);

* Louisiana’s Song by Kerry Madden (Viking Juvenile; May 2007; review copy); and

* . . . I kicked things off with I Am Not Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; July 2007; review copy). I reviewed this back in September, but for this piece, I took portions of that review and added a few comments that Jack Gantos made at the recent Southern Festival of Books about the writing of this novel.

Here’s the link again if you want to go take a gander. Enjoy!

Here is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Thursday, October 18 (pictured here is Cece Bell’s ’05 snowflake, “Sock Monkey’s Wonderful Winter Wear”).

In this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

* Brooke Dyer, featured by Leila Roy at bookshelves of doom

* D.B. Johnson, featured by Elisabeth Rose Gruner at Lessons from the Tortoise

* Erin Eitter Kono, featured by Sam Riddleburger at his blog

* Sherry Rogers, featured by Loree Griffin Burns at A Life in Books

* Jennifer Thermes, featured by Gail Maki Wilson at Through the Studio Door

Did you see yesterday’s features? Did you read all about Diane deGroat’s taxidermy collection, which aids in her illustrating, at jama rattigan’s alphabet soup? Do you know how snowflakes are like potato chips? Rick Chrustowski can tell you at Laura Purdie Salas’ blog. And you can read here about the process of painting with acrylics while illustrator Don Tate talks about the painting of his snowflake, as pointed out at Pam Calvert’s The Silving Lining yesterday. All five features were fun to read, and thanks again to all the bloggers involved in this spread-the-word effort.

Don’t forget this new page here at 7-Imp, which lists all the illustrator features thus far in one spot.

{Note: Please see the post below for today’s Robert’s Snow schedule!}

Hey, all. We’re kicking it old-skool here at 7-Imp by posting a straight-up blogger interview, something we haven’t done in almost a month. We’re extra-pleased that our comeback interview features Jackie Parker of Interactive Reader. In keeping with the nostalgia theme, here’s…

1* Her book reviews. You can count on her for pithy, outspoken commentary on mostly-YA-but-occasionally-adult novels, like this one about Jack Gantos’s novel The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs (that almost makes Eisha want to read it even though the premise is so very very wrong).

2* She’s funny. Wicked funny. We tried to find specific examples from her blog that were extra-hilarious, but it’s too hard to choose. Seriously, she’s always funny. So just read anything at random. Go on, we’ll wait…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Wednesday, October 17 (pictured here is Julie Paschkis’ ’04 snowflake, “Ecce Acorn”).

In this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

* Rick Chrustowski, featured by Laura Purdie Salas at laurasalas

* Diane deGroat, featured by Jama Rattigan at jama rattigan’s alphabet soup

* Ilene Richard, featured by Susan Dove Lempke at Something Different Every Day

* Brie Spangler, featured by Kimberly at lectitans

* Don Tate, featured by Pam Calvert at The Silver Lining

Did you see yesterday’s features? They were a delight to read. Did you know that Kris Bordessa at Paradise Found announced in her feature of Alexandra Boiger that Ms. Boiger has generously offered to send an art print of “Rotkaeppchen” (Little Red Riding Hood, pictured at Kris’ post about Alexandra’s snowflake) to one of her blog visitors? Do you know how beautiful this print is, everyone? Wow. Thanks to Kris and to EVERYONE ELSE yesterday for their wonderful posts.

Please note — if you missed this yesterday — that I have started a page here at 7-Imp that includes a comprehensive listing of all the snowflake/illustrator features. You can see it here. At the end of each day, I’ll add the daily schedule and will leave it here for all posterity at 7-Imp, as a record of all the bloggers’ hard work and talents — and as a handy resource on illustrators for Picture Book Nerds like me to enjoy.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the posts. And go buy a snowflake already . . .

{Note: Please see the below post for today’s Robert’s Snow schedule!} . . .

What happens when the creator of the Animorphs series tackles a free verse novel? Well, something quite lovely after all.

In Home of the Brave (Feiwel & Friends; August 2007; review copy), Katherine Applegate’s first stand-alone literary novel, she tells the story of Kek, who once lived in Africa with his mother, father, and brother but lost the latter two in the midst of war in Sudan. After time at a refugee camp, he is reunited with his aunt and cousin, Ganwar, already living in America as refugees, and befriends a cow at a nearby farm, which reminds him of home (“You can have your dogs and cats,/ your gerbils and hamsters/ and sleek sparkling fish./ But you will have lived/ just half a life/ if you never love a cow”). The popularity of free verse and its constant abuse could be an altogether different post, but I think this one mostly works.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the Robert’s Snow illustrator-and-snowflake feature schedule for Tuesday, October 16 (pictured here is Anna Alter’s ’04 snowflake, “A Cat in the Snow”). In this below schedule, the illustrator’s name links to his/her website, but click on the blog to be taken to that blogger’s snowflake/illustrator feature:

* Selina Alko, featured by Cheryl Klein at Brooklyn Arden

* Scott Bakal, featured by Elaine Magliaro at Wild Rose Reader

* Alexandra Boiger, featured by Kris Bordessa at Paradise Found

* Paige Keiser, featured by Paula Willey at Your Neighborhood Librarian

* Janet Stevens, featured by Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect . . .

Did everyone see yesterday’s features? They were a fabulous start to this whole effort. Maybe each day I can pick out one moment to highlight (if I had more hours in the day, I’d do more): One excellent moment from yesterday, other than seeing Grace Lin’s smiling face and all the great write-ups, was Kevin Hawkes telling Cynthia Lord (here) that illustrators “bring the greatest art to children’s books” and that “children truly deserve that.”

Please note that I have started a page here at 7-Imp that includes a comprehensive listing of all the snowflake/illustrator features. You can see it here. At the end of each day, I’ll add the daily schedule and will leave it here for all posterity at 7-Imp, as a record of all the bloggers’ hard work and talents — and as a handy resource on illustrators for Picture Book Nerds like me to enjoy.

One more final note: I can’t possibly count all the bloggers who have been talking up this Blogging for a Cure effort, and I thank you all (according to the ever-informative Tracy Grand at JacketFlap, 169 posts about Robert’s Snow were posted mid-day yesterday!). But one post worth noting, as it involves the creation of a snowflake by, well, a stuffed elephant, is here at Ellsworth’s Journal, via author Candice Ransom.

That’s it for now. Enjoy the posts. And go buy a snowflake already . . .

{Pictured here is illustrator Anna Alter’s 2005 snowflake for the Robert’s Snow auctions. Since I like to use images in my posts, since this snowflake is so beautiful, and since Anna is a part of The Blue Rose Girls — along with Grace Lin, whose husband this effort is in memory of — I hope it’s okay to be borrowing this image for this post!}

It’s time, everyone! It’s time for the Blogging for a Cure effort to begin! Seven cheers for all the bloggers who will be highlighting some of the 2007 snowflakes and the illustrators who created them in the name of helping to raise money to fight cancer for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Back in September, the call to bloggers began, and over 70 bloggers responded, saying that they’d like to do what they can in this multi-blog, cross-posting effort to drive traffic to the online Robert’s Snow auctions and help raise money, we hope, for cancer research. And it’s all in the memory of Robert Mercer, Grace Lin’s husband, who recently passed away due to a rare form of cancer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wooooooo! It’s getting close to Halloween, and we’re in a spooky mood here at 7-Imp. So we’re pleased to be featuring art by Jeremy Caniglia. Back in August, we co-reviewed Margo Lanagan’s Red Spikes, for which Caniglia did the cover art. As Eisha put it in the co-review, the cover painting is lovely in a slightly creepy way, and we thought that Jeremy could send us some slightly creepy-spooky Halloween-esque art (we’d like to do that for each Sunday in October, leading up to Halloween — did you see Frank Dormer’s mummy last week?). If you visit Jeremy’s site, you’ll see he’s capable of creepy and creepy-verging-on-disturbing (he does a lot of art for Adult Fantasy and Horror titles, as he explains below), and no matter the tone, he possesses much talent with the paintbrush.

But then he went and sent us these not-so-creepy and more eloquent, more whimsical paintings instead. And we’re still just as pleased that he did so, even though they’re not Halloween-esque spooky in tone. Here’s what Jeremy had to say about these works: Read the rest of this entry »