Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Frances was sent to Cottingley so the girls could go out to the beck to summon …
the fairies. But it rained . . . every day. In the two weeks Frances was in Cottingley,
the girls got only two hours of sunshine to try for photos.”
— From Marc Tyler Nobleman’s Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World
That Fairies Are Real, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

 

“‘My first job,’ Venus says, ‘is big sister. And I take that very seriously.'”
— From Howard Bryant’s Sisters and Champions:
The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in its entirety)

 
Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got a preschool picture book round-up.

That is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote here at Kirkus about Howard Bryant’s Sisters & Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams (Philomel, May 2018), illustrated by Floyd Cooper, as well as Marc Tyler Nobleman’s Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies Are Real (Clarion, April 2018), illustrated by Eliza Wheeler.

I’m following up with art from both books today.

Enjoy!

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Last week at Kirkus, I talked board books with author-illustrator Hilary Leung. (That is here.)

Today, I’m following up with some art from his new board book series.

Until tomorrow . . .

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Pictured above is a preliminary image from Julie Fogliano’s A House That Once Was (Roaring Brook, May 2018), illustrated by Lane Smith. This, Lane says, was his attempt to use “very absorbent newspaper, but the line here was a little too blobby and uncontrollable.”

Lane sent a few other roughs from the book, as well as some final art, which you can see below. Both Lane and Julie also share a bit below about the book’s creation.

I’ve reviewed the book here over at BookPage, if you’d like to read more about it.

Enjoy!

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“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.”
(Click to enlarge)

 
I’ve a review over at BookPage of Elly MacKay’s Red Sky at Night (Tundra, May 2018). That is here.

Today at 7-Imp, I’ve got some of MacKay’s paper dioramas from the book.

Enjoy!

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“Pablo is an Argentine boy who lives in Mexico. His parents took refuge there after escaping the military dictatorship that ravaged their country. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read full text)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got sisters and cousins on the mind.

That is here.

* * *

Last week, I wrote here about Seven Pablos (Enchanted Lion, May 2018), written by Jorge Luján, illustrated by Chiara Carrer, and translated from the Spanish by Mara Lethem. I’m following up with some art today.

Enjoy. . . .

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“I love puzzles. Crafting these stories has been a challenging puzzle at times, but ultimately more enjoyable and satisfying.”

* * *

Over at Kirkus today, I talk with Hilary Leung, who has just written and illustrated his first board books, two titles in a new series.

The Q&A is here. Next week, I’ll follow up here at 7-Imp with a bit more art from each book.

Until tomorrow . . .

 
Over at Tennessee’s wonderful Chapter 16, I have a piece up about Thirteen, the 1975 picture book collaboration between Remy Charlip and Jerry Joyner, which the New York Review Children’s Collection has released this month in a new edition. Jerry currently lives here in middle Tennessee and has so for many decades now.

I’m sharing the wonderful photo above with Jerry’s permission. It’s an old photo of Jerry (far right) with Remy (third from the left) and their friends Jacques and Sylvia on a trip to Greece. The photo was taken by an unknown street photographer.

I’ve also got a few spreads from Thirteen below (if you want to take a peek at the art), as well as a current photo of Jerry.

The Chapter 16 piece is here. (You will read over there that Jerry will speak at Parnassus Books this week, so heads-up, if you happen to live in middle Tennessee.)

Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »

“Every evening, sitting in his armchair, Fox likes to leaf through old botany books,
looking for the next new plant to add to his collection.”

 
I wrote a review for BookPage of a picture book originally published in French last year — Benjamin Flouw’s The Golden Glow (Tundra, May 2018). That review is here.

I’m following up with some art from the book today. . . .

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Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got Seven Pablos (on shelves next month), a thoughtful new picture book, written by Jorge Luján and illustrated by Chiara Carrer. Translated from the Spanish by Mara Lethem, it addresses the lives of seven different boys (all with the same first name), who live in both South America and North America.

That is here. I’ll have art from it here at 7-Imp next week.

Until Sunday . . .

— From Hannah Eliot’s Ramadan

 

From Saffron Ice Cream: “Turns out chocolate crunch is a pretty good flavor too.
I can’t wait to write and tell Azadeh all about it.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Last week over at Kirkus, I chatted here with illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh about her two brand-new books, Hannah Eliot’s Ramadan (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster, April 2017) and Saffron Ice Cream (Levine/Scholastic, May 2018). Rashin has published over 60 books in countries all over the world. Saffron Ice Cream is the first book she has both illustrated and written in English.

I’m following up here today with art from each book.

Enjoy!

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