\nJules:<\/strong><\/font> See those cars, in-and-outing? I’m one of those, on my way to East Tennessee for a Very Exciting Day, but I’ll get to that in a minute. <\/p>\n
This morning, 7-Imp welcomes acclaimed Italian graphic artist Beppe Giacobbe<\/strong><\/a>. Well, I wish I were welcoming him, but I wasn’t able to get in touch with him to see if he’d like to stop by, to say hello (in either Italian or English), and to show us some other art work — though I tried. Bummer. Because I love his art work, which is new to me and which I first saw in the new picture book by the award-winning and quite prolific author (AND poet AND essayist AND reviewer AND even more), Robert Burleigh<\/strong><\/a>, entitled Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep!: Listen to the City<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, to be released in early May by Simon & Schuster (Paula Wiseman Books). I can at least show you two spreads from that today. Here’s the other: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though I couldn’t reach Giacobbe to see if he could share more art with us (again, bummer<\/em>…I love to feature international artists, in particular), I can<\/em> direct you to his web site<\/strong><\/a>, for those interested in browsing further. Also, you can click on the above spreads to see them up close and personal. I’m going to promptly hit my library for the other picture book titles Giacobbe’s illustrated, as well as many of the other titles Burleigh’s written. Don’t you love finding new-to-you illustrators and authors? I do. <\/p>\n Anyway, as a reminder, our 7-kicks are our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. So, let’s kick it up. Absolutely anyone is welcome to list kicks — even if, or especially<\/em> if, you’ve never done so before.<\/p>\n {P.S. Important copyright stuff: CLANG! CLANG! BEEP! BEEP!: LISTEN TO THE CITY is \u00a9 2009 Robert Burleigh, illustration \u00a9 2009 by Beppe Giacobbe. Published by Simon & Schuster (Paula Wiseman Books), New York, New York. Posted with permission of publisher. All rights reserved.}<\/em><\/p>\n So, East Tennesse won the bid this year<\/strong><\/a>, and the presenter will be author Walter Dean Myers<\/strong><\/a>. And Yours Truly will be interpreting his lecture. Yes. I’ll be interpreting his amazing, brilliant words into American Sign Language. I. am. so. nervous. And very honored. And it will be hosted by the Langston Hughes Library of the Children’s Defense Fund Haley Farm<\/strong><\/a> in Clinton, Tennessee, which is a beautiful place. <\/p>\n So, I’ll be back on Sunday to read your kicks, but right now I’m packing AND preparing for his lecture. (His son, illustrator Christopher Myers<\/strong><\/a>, will be speaking on Friday night at The University of Tennessee, but we can’t make that for different reasons, so let’s not even talk about that, thanks very much.)<\/p>\n That voice. <\/p>\n And one more thing: Speaking of Jeff Buckley<\/strong><\/a>, which I did above (and if you’re One Who Speaks Ill of Jeff Buckley’s Music, you best not mention that to me OR Eisha unless you want to hear an earful), Amy wrote a song years ago—a beautiful, heartbreaking, lovely piece of poetry—about his death, which is also click-able there at her MySpace radio. It’s called “Blind River Boy.”<\/p>\n 3). Persian buttercups. I took this pic at my mother-in-law’s house. I had never heard of these flowers before. They’re exquisite. I want some. <\/p>\n 5). We then started this book<\/strong><\/a>. I’m sorry, but why didn’t this book make a bigger splash? My god, it is funny as hell and so well-written. It slays me every time. My five-year-old was laughing so hard (as was I) at the Frog Prince with the golden belt that she could hardly breathe. <\/p>\n 6). My husband and I watched “Rachel Getting Married,”<\/strong><\/a> and it has—all the heavy moments and intense acting and sadness and recovering-addict arguments aside—a fabulous wedding with the best wedding vows I think I’ve ever heard (with the exception of my husband’s, OF COURSE). I almost want a do-over on my wedding vows. But just almost. (The movie also has great music, including a cameo from Robyn Hitchcock<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n 7). Remember how I had a sneak-peek of new art last week<\/strong><\/a> from Julie Paschkis<\/strong><\/a>, since I always tell my favorite illustrators to feel free to stop by and share art any time? This week, I have a little bit from Carin Berger<\/strong><\/a> (interviewed here<\/strong><\/a> in February), who recently moved to Japan and who has a new blog<\/strong><\/a>. (Right now, Carin said, it’s her “madly posting…photos of Kyoto and our funky-in-the-best-possible-way house.” She’s got some great pics there; check this<\/strong><\/a> out.) Here’s what Carin said about the art: These are “some bits and pieces from the book I just finished right before I left for Japan. It is due out late next winter and is called <\/em>Forever Friends and is a little parable about, well, friendship and missing a friend. It’s about a bunny and a bird who become friends and then the bird needs to migrate for the winter.”<\/em> <\/p>\n Thanks to Carin for sharing. Her books make me happy. <\/p>\n I’ll be back on Sunday to read your kicks. Happy kickin’…<\/p>\n OMG!OMG!OMG!!! I am so jealous I cannot stand it. I was lucky enough to hear Walter Dean Myers speak once, and he is just such a lovely man. You MUST tell us all about it when you get back, J.<\/p>\n Anyhoo, my kicks:<\/p>\n 2* Coconut ice cream from the Cayuga Lake Creamery<\/strong><\/a>. It’s maybe, seriously, the best ice cream I’ve ever had.<\/p>\n 3* I had to work this Saturday, but that meant I got to take off Friday afternoon. It was such a beautiful spring day – sunny, upper 60s. I walked the long way home.<\/p>\n 4* I got a much-needed haircut.<\/p>\n 5* The husband and I just watched Burn After Reading<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Funny, but man, those Coen brothers<\/strong><\/a> do not shy away from the darkness.<\/p>\n 6* …<\/p>\n Okay, seriously, I’m trying to think of my own kicks here, but I just keep coming back to Jules interpreting for Walter Dean Myers. I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THAT ALREADY.<\/p>\n And hey, what about your kicks? Do tell…<\/p>\n Julie<\/font><\/strong>: YOU GUYS! It’s late Saturday night, and I’m back. And I can share more later, but I have to share my special pic before this posts: This is me and my good friend, Rachel (who was my team interpreter), with Walter Dean Myers after his lecture! (I know it’s a bit shadowy, but you can click on the image to see it up close and personal and all-around better.)<\/p>\n Jules: See those cars, in-and-outing? I’m one of those, on my way to East Tennessee for a Very Exciting Day, but I’ll get to that in a minute. This morning, 7-Imp welcomes acclaimed Italian graphic artist Beppe Giacobbe. Well, I wish I were welcoming him, but I wasn’t able to get in touch with him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/ccbb1.jpg\")
This tiny feature follows nicely upon the heels of my post from on Wednesday<\/strong><\/a>, partly about Lee Bennett Hopkins’ new title, which also celebrates city life. Clang! Clang!<\/em>, written in rhymed couplets, invites us to a day in the life of a young boy who lives in a big city. It’s quite the onomatopoeic and musical celebration of everything from “Subway roaring \/ Riders snoring” to traffic and sirens and wrecking balls and jump-roping kids, what with your “blink blinks” and “ring rings” and “coo coos” and scritch-scratch-hopping. Giacobbe’s illustrations are wonderful — bold colors, robust shapes, distinct lines. Well, Kirkus<\/em> calls it a “vivid sliver of city life.” Yes. That. That’s why they’re professional reviewers, and I’m not. They nailed it. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/myers2a.jpg\")
1). So, yeah…My Very Exciting Day, as you read this now, is over. But, as I type this, it’s the end of the (work) week, and I’m getting ready to head to East Tennessee with my family for the 2009 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture<\/strong><\/a>. If you are reading this and are not<\/em> a library geek like me and Eisha, I’ll summarize: It’s a lecture given annually by an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature (from any country). The lecture itself becomes “a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.” The person is chosen by the American Library Association, and different cities\/regions of the country will bid to have that lecture happen in their area. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/ac.jpg\")
2). There’s this singer\/songwriter\/musician named Amy Correia<\/strong><\/a>, who has released two CDs, the last one being too long ago, in my fan-girl opinion. Both CDs are really good. As one reviewer put it, I remember, she’s like the love child of Patsy Cline and Jeff Buckley. Well, she announced this week she’ll have a new CD this year. And a new song, “O Lord,” starts a-playin’ over at her MySpace site<\/strong><\/a>. And it’s goooood. And she re-worked, I discovered, an older song called “Devil and I,” which I highly encourage you to click on at that little MySpace radio thingy, especially if you like a good blues song. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/pbuttercups.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/cweb1.jpg\")
4). I make it a priority (which I’m very<\/em> lucky to be able to do, since I work from home) to curl up with my girls every afternoon and read — both picture books and novels suited to their ages. We finished Charlotte’s Web<\/em> this week. The kicks at the warm, beating heart of this #4 here are two-fold: Reading to and with them is probably my favorite thing ever. Also: Charlotte’s Web<\/em> is my favorite children’s novel. I didn’t want it to end. I also wept. WEPT, I tell you, when Charlotte said goodbye and when she died AND when her babies went flying into the air. I’m surprised my girls even understood me. <\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
1* I finished Bailey White’s<\/strong><\/a> newest book, Nothing with Strings<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. It’s a compilation of the Thanksgiving stories she’s been doing for All Things Considered on NPR for the past several years. Funny, ’cause a month ago<\/strong><\/a> I was all “Why hasn’t Bailey White written anything in ten years?” and it’s like the book gods granted my wish. She’s just as good as ever. I miss her Mama, though.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/wdm.JPG\")
<\/a>His lecture was fabulous, and what an honor to interpret his words. Not to mention, afterwards Andrea Davis Pinkney<\/strong><\/a> just APPEARED and told me and Rachel how much she enjoyed watching the interpretation, which was too, too kind of her, and to ask a bit more about ASL and such. And when I saw her name tag, I was all, “ANDREA PINKNEY! GASP! I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!” (When I get excited, grace seems to flee.) And then my daughter, who seems to be always giving out flowers, totally handed Andrea Pinkney a little yellow wildflower. Dig it. More later…Just had to share my pic and a bit about my day full of specialness…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"