Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Cover art
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Hush, Little Bunny (Balzer + Bray, January 2019), written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist David Ezra Stein, is a new take on a traditional lullaby. And as many classic lullabies do, it reminds children that their caretaker is there to protect, comfort, and nurture — unconditional love in its purest form. Here, we have a small rabbit with its father, who plays with, protects, guides, feeds, and amuses his child — all told in the same sing-song rhythms as the lullaby upon which it is based.

David visits 7-Imp today to share some of his process images, as well as final paintings from the book. This is a sunny, light-infused palette with many full-bleed spreads that invite readers into the natural world to explore with the creatures. I love to see the energetic lines of David’s work. Let’s get right to it so that the art can speak for itself, and I thank him for sharing. (And be sure to scroll down to see Bun Bun.)

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“When the sun rose, the peppered moths dozed on lichen-covered branches.
Silent, still, they hid.
Someone else was looking for food.
Who was the best hidden? Who would survive?”
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Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got a new book celebrating math by Spanish author-illustrator Miguel Tanco.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Isabel Thomas’s Moth: An Evolution Story (Bloomsbury, June 2019), illustrated by Daniel Egnéus. Here today at 7-Imp are some spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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Over at Chapter 16, I’ve got a review of Amy Chu’s graphic novel, Sea Sirens (Viking, June 2019), illustrated by Nashville art Janet K. Lee.

That is here, and here today at 7-Imp are some spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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— From the poem “Kookoorookoo! Kookoorookoo!”
(Click image to enlarge and read poem in its entirety)

 
Blooming Beneath the Sun (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, April 2019), featured here today, evidently sprung from illustrator Ashley Bryan’s love of the work of 19th century British poet Christina Rossetti. Gathered in this cheery book are thirteen of her children’s poems, ones that primarily celebrate animals and nature. A couple of lesser-known poems, “Mother Shake the Cherry-Tree” and “Lie-a-Bed,” feature families (the latter illustrated with a woman who seems to be working magic on a child). Most of the poems are Rossetti’s most accessible, child-friendly, nursery rhyme-esque ones — such as, “Who Has Seen the Wind?” (included below).

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“‘Maybe it’s weird for you, but not for me. …'”

 
Over at Kirkus today, it’s moths and natural selection and adaptation and gorgeous art.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about K-Fai Steele’s first book as both author and illustrator — A Normal Pig (Balzer + Bray, June 2019). Today, K-Fai talks a bit about the book, shares some early sketches (and a couple of deleted scenes), and shares some final art from the book. I thank her for visiting.

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I’m sending you to the Horn Book’s site today for a review I wrote of Richard T. Morris’s Bear Came Along (Little, Brown, June 2019), illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

The review is here, if you’re so inclined to read it. It’s a mighty entertaining tale, this one.

Until later this week …

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It’s the first Sunday of the month (hello, June), which means I’ve a visit from a student or newly-graduated illustrator. This morning, I’ve illustrator Heidi Aubrey. She studied at the ArtCenter College of Design and has just signed with an agent. Heidi sent along some art, as well as a bit about herself, and I thank her for sharing this morning.

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Early sketch
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Final spread
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Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got K-Fai Steele’s debut as an author-illustrator.

That is here.

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Last week, I chatted here with author-illustrator Steve Light about his new board book, Mama Tiger, Tiger Cub (Candlewick, May 2019). Today here at 7-Imp, I’m following up with some art from the book, as well as a peek at some of Steve’s early sketches for the illustrations. He also shares some sample pieces from his upcoming book, A Whiskers Hollow Adventure: The Road Trip. I thank him for sharing.

Enjoy!

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“to the wildflowers painting the warming hillsides;
to the pronghorn chewing the grass of her first spring: you are home.
[Great Sand Dunes]”
(Click image to enlarge spread)

 
Over at BookPage, I’ve a review of Evan Turk’s You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks (Atheneum, June 2019).

That is here, and today here at 7-Imp, Evan shares some early process images, as well as some final spreads from the book. This book, he tells me, didn’t have as much in the way of traditional sketches, as he painted the final art either on location without very much preliminary sketching or, inspired by the drawings he did while visiting parks, he painted the final art when back home. That said, I thank Evan for sending some behind-the-scenes images.

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“With a sling, Dede shot supper until even the prairie dogs grew scarce.”
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Illustrator Nicole Tadgell visits 7-Imp today to share some art and process images from A. LaFaye’s Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town (Albert Whitman, January 2019). It’s the story of a 19th-century African American family who saves money in order to leave the sharecropping life and secure land in Kansas. After they’re finally to able leave and stake a homestead claim in the town of Nicodemus, they create a home for themselves in the bank of the Solomon River; they survive a hard winter; they meet their Ni-u-kon-ska (Osage) neighbors, who bring them food; and young Dede, the narrator, gets a job shining shoes at the St. Francis Hotel. In the end, they have established a “home where they could tell stories, use the stars to guide them, and make plans for the things to come.”

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