Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

” … She burps pebbles, Henry thought.
And breathes underwater. And turns sunshine into colors.”

 
Over at Kirkus today, I write about Cindy Derby’s picture book debut.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Jenn Bailey’s A Friend for Henry (Chronicle, February 2019), illustrated by Mika Song. I’m following up today with some preliminary images and final art from Mika. The art for this book was rendered in pencil, watercolor, and Sumi ink on watercolor paper.

I thank Mika for sharing.

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(Click to enlarge)

 
Here’s a quick post to share some spreads from storyteller and author Atinuke’s newest children’s book, B is for Baby (Candlewick, March 2019), illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. The title may hint at an alphabet book, but this one is focused on one letter only: the letter b.

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“nest + robin = jewelry box”

 
Up for some poetry? And math? And science? Over at BookPage, I’ve a review of Laura Purdie Salas’s Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations (Charlesbridge, February 2019), illustrated by Micha Archer. I love this playful book, and it makes me want to snap my fingers and be in a school library again so that I can share it with both students and teachers.

That review is here if you’d like to read more about the book, and here at 7-Imp today I’ve some of Archer’s art from the book.

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“hug”

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’m highlighting a new picture book about an autistic boy navigating social dynamics in a classroom — Jenn Bailey’s A Friend for Henry, illustrated by Mika Song.

That is here.

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Today at 7-Imp is some art from Janik Coat’s Aleph (Gecko, March 2019), which I wrote about here last week, along with some other new board books.

Enjoy!

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I’m doing something a little bit different today. When I saw the announcement this week of this year’s Children’s Book Week poster, I knew I wanted to be sure to share it here at 7-Imp, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales, it celebrates the centennial celebration of Children’s Book Week. Children’s Book Week, established in 1919 and administered by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, is an annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. You can read more about it (and the poster) here. And then head to everychildareader.net (where you can, if you’re so inclined, download your own hi-res version of this poster).

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Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got some board books on the mind, as well as Janik Coat’s book for babies, coming to shelves next month here in the U.S.

That is here.

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Last week, I talked here with author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier about his two spring books, Good Boy (Atheneum, February 2019) and Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride: And Other Stories (Chronicle, March 2019). I’m following up today with some preliminary images and final art from each book. I thank Sergio for sharing.

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(Click to enlarge)

 
I’m happy to be a part this week of the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award blog tour. You can read more about the award, presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL), at the official Sydney Taylor site. The full blog tour schedule is posted here at the on the AJL blog, and I also list the schedule below at the bottom of this post.

It’s a pleasure to welcome artist and author Vesper Stamper here today to talk about What the Night Sings (Knopf, 2018), her debut illustrated novel and winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category. It tells the moving story of 16-year-old Gerta, liberated from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945 and attempting to create a new life for herself. Gerta recalls her past, including her love of music (she is a singer and violist); memories of life before imprisonment when she was unaware she was Jewish until the Nazis take her and her father by force; her father’s death at Auschwitz; the suffering she endured in the camps; and more. Post-liberation, she struggles to understand her newfound Jewish identity, to revisit music in her life, to form relationships with others, and to journey to Palestine. Read the rest of this entry »

“‘Nice to meet you,’ said Wild Pig. ‘Why have you wrapped yourself up?’
‘Do you mean these?’ said Piggy. ‘They’re called clothes.'”
(Click image to enlarge and see text in its entirety)

 
I’m taking a moment today to share some spreads from Maria Gulemetova’s Beyond the Fence (Child’s Play), originally released in the UK in 2017 and published here in the U.S. last year. Last week, the nominations for the 2019 CILIP Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards were announced, and Gulemetova’s book was included. This tame-to-wild, domestication-to-freedom narrative is oft-explored in children’s literature, this particular story about a domesticated pig who meets a wild one and eventually frees himself of his clothes and runs out into the wide, wild world. We saw something similar, for instance, in Peter Brown’s Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. However, this book takes that story to new places, and I love the notion of sharing this with young readers and letting it sit in their minds and hearts.

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“This is a bird. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in its entirety)

 
I’ve a Spanish picture book import for you today, dear Imps. Pepe Márquez’s Nests (StarBerry Books), illustrated by Natalia Colombo, was originally released in 2013 and will be on shelves in the U.S. next month.

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— From Michelle Meadows’s Brave Ballerina, illustrated by Ebony Glenn

 

“And not everyone liked it. ‘You’re gonna regret wearing pants, Mary Walker!’
they all said. ‘No, I won’t!’ Mary said back.”
— From Keith Negley’s Mary Wears What She Wants
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Today over at Kirkus, I take a look at Sergio Ruzzier’s two new picture books — and even chat with him a bit about them.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Michelle Meadows’s Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins (Henry Holt, January 2019), illustrated by Ebony Glenn, as well as Keith Negley’s Mary Wears What She Wants (Balzer + Bray, January 2019). I’m following up here today with some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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