![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFendpaper.jpg\")
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Jules:<\/font><\/strong> We have an author and illustrator duo visiting us this morning, shining a light on some nonfiction today: The creators of Bubble Homes and Fish Farts<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (released by Charlesbridge in February of this year), author Fiona Bayrock<\/strong><\/a>, who has written many science books for children, and author\/illustrator Carolyn Conahan<\/strong><\/a>. Yeah, I said fish farts<\/em>. In her March review of this book<\/strong><\/a>, Jen Robinson, one of our pretty regular kickers here on Sundays, wrote: “Fiona Bayrock has taken a unique premise, researched it to find lots of interesting, factual examples, and then added (with Carolyn Conahan’s help) both humor and heart.”<\/em> Well, I say she nailed it with that statement. Just when you thought you understood all there was to know about bubbles and their purpose in this world, along comes Fiona. PSYCHE! Or “paradigm shift,”<\/em> in the words of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books<\/em>. (Can I yell “PARADIGM SHIFT!” like someone would yell “PSYCHE!” Nah. Doesn’t flow well.) Yes, where was I? Fiona shows us the varied, weird, wild, wonderful, and all-around funky ways animals use bubbles. Sixteen different ways, to be precise, from the star-nosed mole’s bubble-blowing from its sniffer (note: that is not<\/em> a rigorous scientific term) in order to find food to the the rattlebox moth’s “glob of yellow bubbles” that seep from its head as a warning to predators — and lots of other bubble action in between. <\/p>\n I want to say you’ll be blown away by this title, but then Andrea and Mark, the dynamic duo over at Just One More Book<\/em>, beat me to<\/strong><\/a> that very necessary pun. <\/p>\n I asked both Fiona and Carolyn to talk a bit about the book today, and Carolyn is also here to share some watercolors from it, as well as a few sneak peeks at some of her other projects. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The science is solid in Bubble Homes and Fish Farts<\/em>\u2014each spread is heavily researched with direct input from scientists\u2014but Carolyn and I had terrific fun creating this book. As much as I played with language, adding onomatopoeia, humour, and off-beat references (“Bubbles are for shooting hoops”), Carolyn played with the visuals, adding humour, movement, and bubble fun, often in unexpected places. I like to think readers will feel some of our creative joy as they read the book.<\/p>\n What’s next for me? More funky animal science books. The publication dates are far off, though, and the concepts are unusual, so I don’t want to spill the beans quite yet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Carolyn:<\/font><\/strong> I am not widely known for my grasp of facts. I elaborate. I exaggerate. I twist and tweak and fabricate. I wouldn\u2019t have thought these qualities qualified me to illustrate a non-fiction picture book. Nevertheless, the nice people at Charlesbridge<\/strong><\/a> asked me to illustrate Bubble Homes & Fish Farts<\/em>. I happen to know these people are very smart. They also make lovely books. I figured they must know what they\u2019re doing…So, I said “Sounds like fun!” It was. <\/p>\n There was a lot of research, which I enjoyed to excess. I learned all kinds of things about all kinds of things — and their habits and habitats. Of all the creatures in the book, the spittlebug was the hardest to research. Most of the photos just showed a blob of spit. Imagine! I finally captured a live specimen in my own yard and spied on it with my Bill Nye the Science Guy Up-Closifier. (There\u2019s a professional secret for you.) Of course I released him\/her\/it when I was done. I have my little ethics. <\/p>\n As the deadline loomed closer, I realized I really should get to work. So, I wrote to Fiona, and she sent me everything I needed. She\u2019s pretty good at the research thing. She knows where to find scientists, for instance. Scientists who would notice if I made something up. Knowing this—and that Fiona and the very smart folks at Charlesbridge would be checking everything over—kept me on track. More or less. (I still can\u2019t believe they let me get away with those word bubbles!)<\/p>\n Now that I\u2019m done with that project, I am wallowing in my old habits.<\/p>\n I’m the staff artist for Cricket Magazine<\/em>, which is run by hard-working, dedicated people with a grand mission (bringing great stories and art to kids, commercial-free). They\u2019ve been doing this for YEARS, so they have grit, too. My contribution, however, is to crack jokes and draw cartoon buggy exploits every month…sometimes I feel guilty about this, but I get over it.<\/p>\n I’m also working on a picture book for Chronicle, called The Wish Farm<\/em> {sketch and illustration below}. Research for this book involves finding the weediest yards in town (not mine — surprise, surprise) and sneaking photos, so no one will notice and be embarrassed and mow the weeds away. Maybe I should start leaving notes…but what would I say? “I love your weeds”? It\u2019s true, but they might think I was being sarcastic — and mow anyway. So, I won\u2019t. I kind of like the sneaking anyway.<\/p>\n I have a number of other projects in progress. All made up, and that\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n Bonus weird bio facts, because I hear you like that sort of thing: I paint in a little house that my sweetie and family and friends built for me by hand. It is shaded by a tree I brought home in my pocket and overlooks a crater (soon to be a pool) that my sweetie and family and friends dug, also by hand, for the purpose of skateboarding.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Why, yes, we love our bonus weird bio facts here at 7-Imp, and that’s a particularly good one. Here’s one more piece of art from Carolyn, “another thing I’m working on… with skateboarding, monsters down the drain, and a smelly little princess with sharp teeth.”<\/p>\n Many thanks to both Fiona and Carolyn for stopping by. NOTE: The beautiful spread opening this post, which is the end-paper spread for Bubble Homes and Fish Farts<\/em>, is an auction item<\/strong><\/a> over at the Bridget Zinn auction<\/strong><\/a>, which I mentioned last Sunday<\/strong><\/a>. Yes, the original art!<\/p>\n {BUBBLE HOMES AND FISH FARTS \u00a9 2009 by Fiona Bayrock. Illustrations \u00a9 2009 by Carolyn Conahan. Published by Charlesbridge. Watertown, MA. Posted with permission of publisher. All other illustrations \u00a9 2009 by Carolyn Conahan. All rights reserved.<\/em>}<\/p>\n As a reminder, our 7 Kicks posts 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 1* Hey, it’s Fiona! I worked with her on the 2008 Cybils, and she’s one smart lady. How nice you got her to hang out with us today, Jules! Plus, I love Carolyn’s art, and feel especially fond towards that otter.<\/p>\n 2* My mother-in-law’s visit went well, I think. At least, we did a bunch of stuff, ate a bunch of delicious food (like dessert at Madeline’s, above), and wore ourselves plumb out. And we got the apartment clean in time. The coolest thing we did: going to the Corning Museum of Glass<\/strong><\/a>, where we took a hot glass workshop and made our own souvenirs.<\/p>\n 3* Another thing we did: the Friends of the Library Booksale<\/strong><\/a>. I showed great restraint, and only got two novels and a book of poetry. <\/p>\n 5* Spring weather, spring flowers, springy-spring springiness. I love walking down the sidewalk next to ornamental pear trees while the wind blows their petals around like snow.<\/p>\n 6* My beloved car, Phoebe, has been making some worrisome noises lately. Since he’s about to drive her across a couple of states for a theatre gig, my husband took her into the shop to see what was wrong and if we could afford to fix it. And… yeah, it was kinda pricey, but really it was just a few minor things, normal wear-and-tear stuff, the worst being that she needed new tires. The kick is that I don’t have to worry about trading her in just yet. I seriously LOVE HER beyond all reason.<\/p>\n 7* One of my co-workers, who has become one of my favorite people in Ithaca, is leaving to take an even better position in another state. I’m totally broken-hearted that she’s going so far away, but I do think it’s a great opportunity for her, and I think she’s going to kick some serious ass in her new job. *sniff*<\/p>\n I’m going to count down this week — just for fun:<\/p>\n 7). Re-discovering my Maria McKee<\/strong><\/a> (DIVA! DIVA!) CDs this week, due to one of those “Five Albums I Could Listen to From Start to Finish”-type notes at Facebook, which a friend of mine posted. I was all, Oh yeah. I haven’t listened to my Maria in so long,<\/em> so I pulled out each one of her amazing CDs. I wish I could find a decent video version of “Drinkin’ in My Sunday Dress” to play for you today. ‘Cause it’s one of the Best Songs Ever and has “Sunday” in the title, so…you know. It’d be sorta fitting. <\/p>\n Plus, it’s got the line, “I’ve poured out all the wine, from now on nothin’ but the best \/ Cognac and Patsy Cline while drinkin’ in my Sunday dress.” The best I can find is this<\/strong><\/a> from 1990 (evident from her band’s hairdos). You may not be able to understand her, but it’s still rockin’. <\/p>\n 5). Picture book NUMERO UNO<\/strong><\/a> in Fuse’s Top 100 Picture Books Poll. Was anyone surprised? Damn skippy, Sendak is The King. Always. (And Laurel Snyder<\/strong><\/a> saying, “this book made darkness palatable.” Way to rock a quote, Laurel. I love that.) And how great was that poll of Fuse’s? I want more. <\/p>\n 4). The Summer Blog Blast Tour 2009, coming up this week. Here’s<\/strong><\/a> the master schedule. <\/p>\n 3). The Guys Lit Wire<\/strong><\/em><\/a> Book Fair for Boys to help teens incarcerated in the LA County Juvenile Justice System. Read all about it here<\/strong><\/a>. What a wonderful idea. <\/p>\n 2). My five-year-old “graduated” from her Parents’ Day Out program this week. My husband is still not sure from WHAT<\/em> she graduated. I mean, it’s a great place with great people, but it’s not like it’s a school-school with tests and such. But I still cried a bit when she walked down the aisle (to, yes, “Pomp and Circumstance.” Maybe that was a bit much). And the PDO Director asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up, and she said, “artist, because my mommy likes my art.” OH CHIRREN. Yes, I was fanning my face, trying to dry off tears, even if the rest of the ceremony and its purpose seemed to elude her and her wee friends. <\/p>\n Best of all, when my husband, who missed the ceremony, asked her how it went, she yelled with glee, “THERE WAS CAKE!” And that was all she said. Atta girl. <\/p>\n 1). My family and I are doing something this week we’ve been wanting to do for many years now — since our oldest was born, in fact. <\/p>\n What are YOUR<\/font> kicks this week? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jules: We have an author and illustrator duo visiting us this morning, shining a light on some nonfiction today: The creators of Bubble Homes and Fish Farts (released by Charlesbridge in February of this year), author Fiona Bayrock, who has written many science books for children, and author\/illustrator Carolyn Conahan. Yeah, I said fish farts. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,26,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-nonfiction","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676","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=1676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFwhale.jpg\")
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Humpbacks work in groups to trap a school of herring: One releases streams of bubbles, making a net of sorts that herds fish into a group,
which then becomes a tasty snack for several whales.<\/center><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFcvrsm1.jpg\")
Fiona:<\/font><\/strong> I love Carolyn’s art. It’s clever, kid-friendly, active, and fun. The day it arrived, I’m sure my squees of delight and surprise could be heard clear across the continent. I was blown away. Her gorgeous watercolours had captured the perfect balance of science and whimsy, resulting in a book that was better than anything I had imagined. A picture book author’s dream.<\/p>\n![\"Water](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFshrewspot.jpg\" "\\"Water")
So much rides on illustration. It can make or break a picture book. And\u2014scariest of scary\u2014it’s beyond an author’s control. It’s hard to let go and rely on others for such an important part of your “baby.” In the end, you just have to trust that the other members of the creative team will put their hearts into their work on the book as you have the text. And indeed, that’s what happened with Bubble Homes and Fish Farts<\/em>. Not only did Carolyn and the art director and design staff at Charlesbridge “get” what I was trying to accomplish, but their creativity and heart resonate throughout.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFotter.jpg\")
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\nSea otters, lacking a thick layer of fat to protect them from the cold, blow bubbles and rub them into their fur. The otter’s hairs trap the air in and keep the cold water out — and keep them warm.<\/center> <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFherring.jpg\")
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\nHerring release streams of bubbles from their backsides—Fast Repetitive Ticks, or FaRTs (yeah, I said FaRTs<\/em>)—which really come from the air the herring gulp at the surface of the water. These serve as signals to other herring, a way that the fish can “talk” to each other, yet without alerting salmon and other fish predators.<\/center><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/BHFFspitbug.jpg\")
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\nJuniper spittlebug nymphs, shortly after hatching, release juicy bubbles, covering their bodies in foam, which keep them from drying out in the sun. The bubbles also protect them from parasites and predators.<\/center><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/july07C&Lsm1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/cdcWF16_17sk1.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/cdcTP9sm1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![Dessert at Madeline\u2019s. Yummm.](http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/cake.jpg "\\"Dessert")
<\/p>\n![Me, makin\u2019 something pretty.](http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/meglass.jpg "\\"Me,")
<\/p>\n![Here\u2019s what I made.](http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/flower.jpg "\\"Here's")
<\/p>\n![My bookshelves, which still need weeding and reorganizing.](http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/shelves2.jpg "\\"My")
4* The apartment is still clean! Our bookshelves are up, and all our books are off the floor. Even those new ones.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/audrey.jpg\")
6). One of my good friends and I went and saw “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”<\/strong><\/a> on the big screen at this great Nashville theater<\/strong><\/a>. With lots of popcorn and candy. <\/p>\n