Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

This is a collection of primarily free verse poems from Giovanni — some previously published and the rest, brand-new. The poems are about memory, loss, friendship, and family — and (delightfully) there’s one about a house cat, “not thin nor fat,” who tires of her view and heads out to sea (pictured above). “Quilts,” a poem dedicated to artist Sally Sellers, comes from the point of view of an elderly woman, who likens herself to a “fading piece of cloth.” The ending is striking in its poignancy:

When I am frayed and stained and drizzled at the end
Please someone cut a square and put me in a quilt
That I might keep some child warm …

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, dear Imps, which means I like to turn 7-Imp over to an illustration student. Today, I have Deena So’Oteh, who is originally from Russia and is a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Deena shares many pieces of artwork today and tells us a bit about herself. Let’s get to it. I thank her for visiting.

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That is here.

Last week, I wrote here about Stephanie Graegin’s Little Fox in the Forest (Schwartz & Wade, February 2017); Anushka Ravishankar’s Hic! (Tara, September 2017), illustrated by Christiane Pieper; Steve Jenkins’ and Robin Page’s Who Am I?: An Animal Guessing Game (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, November 2017); Andrea Tsurumi’s Accident! (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2017); Cao Wenxuan’s Feather (Elsewhere Editions, September 2017), illustrated by Roger Mello; and The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine (Random House, September 2017), written by Mark Twain and Philip Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead.

I’ve got art today from each book — and, in some cases, some early sketches, etc. — but I’ll have a separate post later about the Twain/Stead book. More on that soon.

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In my Kirkus column today, I write about this candid book.

That is here.

I’ll follow up next week here at 7-Imp with some spreads.

Stay warm, dear Imps!

Today’s image is from Rowboat Watkins. He’s one of my favorite illustrators, so I asked him if he had anything to share. The bottom portion of the image is a sneak-peek at Rowboat’s Big Bunny, which will be released this Spring from Chronicle Books. Next to that is what Rowboat calls glum Santas on champagne corks, as well as some painted marshmallows. You can click on the image to see it more closely.

I thank Rowboat for sharing. His art always improves the quality of my day.

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Over at Kirkus today, I have my 2017 Children’s Book Ghost File.

That is here.

Last week, I wrote here about Amy Schwartz’s newest picture book, 100 Things I Love to Do with You (Abrams Appleseed, December 2017). I’m following up today with a bit of art from the book.

Enjoy!

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Today, she’s sharing some of the zines from her book! (I’m excited. I love seeing these.)

Enjoy!

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Here’s my favorite Christmas image of all, which I saved for Christmas Day. It’s from Sergio Ruzzier.

Happy holidays to all!

Today’s image is from author-illustrator Daniel Miyares. Don’t you love it? We don’t have snow like that near Nashville. Not yet. We are just getting a whole lot of rain.

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That is here.

Last week, I wrote here about Linda Ashman’s William’s Winter Nap (Disney-Hyperion, October 2017), illustrated by Chuck Groenink; Yoko Maruyama’s Little Santa (Minedition, October 2017); and Greg Pizzoli’s The Twelve Days of Christmas (Disney-Hyperion, September 2017). I’m following up today with some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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