Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“I’ve mentioned in a few interviews my desire to see more stories about brown weirdos, because that’s something I never saw as a kid — brown people who were outside the ‘mainstream.’ Growing up in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood and attending schools with a similar demographic, there weren’t many kids who were into books or writing or art or music. And that’s not to say that those two things don’t go together; I just never saw it in my sort of insulated world. I didn’t start making zines or really get into punk until I was in college, but these are both things that if I’d had any exposure to as a twelve-year-old, I would have eaten up.”

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Over at Kirkus today, I talk with debut author Celia C. Pérez, pictured here, about her middle-grade novel, The First Rule of Punk (Viking, August 2017).

The Q&A is here. Next week, I’ll follow up here at 7-Imp with some more of the zines in her book!

Until tomorrow …

 

 
Today’s illustration is for those of you who, this past week, celebrated the first night of Hanukkah. Also, I always like to see Phoebe Wahl’s artwork. (I was just about to send you all to Phoebe’s shop, which I frequent, but it looks like it’s closed for the holidays. You can always make a note for future shopping, though, because I’m telling you there is such good stuff there.)

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“‘Thank you, Mouse. You are . . .’ Bear swallowed.
‘You are an excellent companion. …'”
— From Bonny Becker’s A Christmas for Bear,
illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
(Click to enlarge spread)

 


“On Christmas Eve in Sri Lanka, children come home from midnight mass
and hang their stockings on the tree. …”
— From M.E. Furman’s A World of Cookies for Santa, illustrated by Susan Gal
(Click to enlarge spread)

 

Over at Kirkus today, I have three more brand-new holiday picture books, because apparently this year I can’t get enough of them.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Bonny Becker’s A Christmas for Bear (Candlewick, September 2017), illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, and M.E. Furman’s A World of Cookies for Santa (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2017), illustrated by Susan Gal. I’m following up with a bit of art today.

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Early sketch and final art
(Click each to enlarge)

 
I’m following up last week’s Kirkus Q&A with Matt Tavares with some preliminary images, as well as a bit of final art, from Red & Lulu (Candlewick, December 2017).

I thank Matt for sharing.

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(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Here’s a quick look at a book I don’t even have in hand. I picked it up and shared it at a recent story time (and also heard it read at a book club gathering), and I was smitten. Rachael Cole’s City Moon, illustrated by Blanca Gómez, was released in September (Schwartz & Wade).

This is the story of a young boy, taking a nightly walk with his mother (they’ve thrown coats over their PJs) through their neighborhood. They are looking for, and talking about, the big, bright moon in the sky. The narrator here is the boy, who is filled with questions about what they see as they walk. He possesses an infectious and endearing curiosity, as the two play a kind of hide-and-seek with the moon. Cole’s text is spare and precise, and matched with Gómez’s muted illustrations, the tone is one of quiet wonder.

To read more about it, you can head here to Jabari Asim’s thoughts in the New York Times. (He also mentions Julia Denos’s Windows, illustrated by E. B. Goodale, a great book with which to pair this one.)

Here’s one more spread. (Both spreads at this post today are sans text, since as I said, I don’t have a copy on hand.) A gentle, delightful book, this is one to be sure you see this year.

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“We wander over to the pond and listen to the drip, drip of the water, the bloop, bloop
of the fish, and the ribbit, ribbit of the frogs.”
(Click to enlarge)

 
I’ve a review over at BookPage of Christine Rousssey’s My Lazy Cat (Abrams, November 2017). This one is a French import, originally published in 2016.

The review is here, and I’m following up today with two spreads from the book.

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— From Sean Rubin’s Bolivar

 

“When I looked again into the whale’s eye, all I saw was my own reflection.
Don’t die, Whale! I’m doing my best!”
— From Mordicai Gerstein’s The Boy and the Whale
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got two new holiday picture books. That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Mordicai Gerstein’s The Boy and the Whale (Roaring Brook, November 2017) and Sean Rubin’s Bolivar (Archaia, November 2017). I’m following up today with some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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“When my kids were little, it turned into sort of a game, where we’d notice the bright red male cardinal out at the bird feeder [in our yard], and we’d try to find the female cardinal. And sure enough, she was usually nearby. It made me wonder what would happen if they ever became separated, and how far one might go to find the other. I felt like there was a story there.”

* * *

Over at Kirkus today, I talk with author-illustrator Matt Tavares, pictured here, about his newest picture book, Red & Lulu (Candlewick, September 2017).

The Q&A is here.

Until tomorrow …

 

 
It’s a pleasure to have a visit today from author-illustrator Aaron Zenz, who is here to talk about his winsome new picture book for very young readers, Little Iffy Learns to Fly (Two Lions, October 2017). You can see the intrepid Little Iffy above.

Filled with warm, eye-catching colors and simple sentences (with various font colors emphasizing particular words for emerging readers, such as the repeated “up”s and “down”s in the tale), it’s the story of a baby griffin, who is afraid to fly. “What if he goes up and never comes down?” writes Zenz. Little Iffy’s friends work together to help their friend, making this a sweet story of friendship (and courage — lots of it).

Aaron is here to talk about the story behind the book, and he shares lots of art. I thank him for visiting.

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It’s a pleasure to have illustrator Yinfan Huang visiting today on the first Sunday of the month, when I tend to feature debut illustrators or those who have just graduated from illustration programs. Yinfan was born and raised in China but now lives and works in the U.S.

I am going to hand 7-Imp over to her briefly, because she talks below about her inspirations, work, and much more. Best of all, she shares some art.

I thank her for visiting.

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