{"id":1612,"date":"2009-03-26T00:01:49","date_gmt":"2009-03-26T06:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2009-03-26T07:09:14","modified_gmt":"2009-03-26T13:09:14","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-geoffrey-hayes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1612","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Geoffrey Hayes"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/font>I do a lot of illustrator interviews here at 7-Imp, but as I was formatting this one, I realized that I don’t often talk to artists like Geoffrey Hayes who create books for the VERY WEE set, as in the pre<\/em>-preschool crowd. For that—and many other reasons—it’s good to welcome Geoffrey this morning for seven questions over breakfast. <\/p>\n

Geoffrey has written and illustrated over forty children’s books, including Bear By Himself<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, Margaret Wise Brown’s When the Wind Blew<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, and the early-reader series, Otto & Uncle Tooth<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. To be perfectly honest, I’m still exploring his previous titles, but what caught my eye—what made me want to invite him over for a breakfast chat—are his new Benny and Penny<\/em> titles for RAW Junior. These titles are Geoffrey at his very best. <\/p>\n

Have you seen these guys yet?<\/p>\n

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Last year, Benny and Penny reared their insanely ENDEARING little heads in Benny and Penny: Just Pretend<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which was one of the new TOON Book<\/strong><\/a> titles launched by Fran\u00e7oise Mouly<\/strong><\/a> and Art Spiegelman<\/strong><\/a>. If you’re not familiar with the TOON Books venture, by all means, go visit the site<\/strong><\/a>, because it’s a brilliant idea: Bringing early-reader titles to children but in a comic book format. (I also posted about them last April<\/strong><\/a> here at 7-Imp, in which I admit to sounding not unlike a motivational speaker. I also talked about the first Benny and Penny<\/em> back here<\/strong><\/a> in January ’08. Yeah, I lurv ’em.)<\/p>\n

With apologies to all other TOON Books created thus far, the Benny and Penny<\/em> ones are my favorites. Benny and Penny: Just Pretend<\/em>—named a Booklist<\/em> Top 10 Graphic Novel for Youth: 2009<\/strong><\/a> (“Emphasizing repetition and word recognition, and with old-fashioned artwork that will help even the youngest readers differentiate between a comic and a picture book, this title explores sibling friction with charm and style”)—immediately engages children with its expertly-paced story of sibling rivalry and with Hayes’ cozy, inviting art. <\/p>\n

This Spring, TOON Books will release the second Benny & Penny tale—Benny and Penny: The Big No-No<\/strong><\/em><\/a>—and it works just as well, if not better, than the first. Here are a few spreads, and you can click on each to see bigger, more detailed versions. I’m so glad I have these to show you, as you can see for yourself the exceeding charm of these characters:<\/p>\n

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To put it ever-so eloquently, I freakin’ love these books. Benny and Penny are rather unforgettable, and—though I haven’t had a chance to try out these two titles on a big group of kids—my own wee ones adore them and repeatedly<\/em> ask to hear the briskly-paced domestic dramas of sweet Penny and her domineering older brother (who likes to pretend he’s entirely<\/em> more courageous than reality will concede). Since one of the reasons I blog here at 7-Imp is to evangelize what I consider to be the good<\/em> children’s titles (let’s face it — there are a lot of bad ones out there), consider this my call-to-the-altar: If you haven’t checked out the Benny and Penny<\/em> titles, especially if you are around wee babes on a regular basis, I’d highly recommend it. <\/p>\n

Back to that breakfast: Geoffrey’s here to chat about his work over “coffee, always, and orange juice. I alternate between having a roll or croissant and having an egg breakfast three times a week.<\/font> I love French Toast, and my favorite egg dish is Eggs Florentine; although I most often just have my eggs scrambled.” Mmm. I’m all over the idea of scrambled eggs. I say we opt for that simple option — with coffee, of course. Let’s set the table and get the basics from Geoffrey…<\/p>\n

Incidentally, the rest of the interview is peppered with vignettes from the first Benny and Penny<\/em> title. Enjoy. <\/p>\n

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7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Geoffrey<\/font><\/strong>: Author\/Illustrator.<\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

Geoffrey<\/font><\/strong>: Well over forty. I\u2019ll just mention a few prominent ones.<\/p>\n