{"id":1743,"date":"2009-07-26T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2009-07-26T06:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1743"},"modified":"2009-07-28T10:56:44","modified_gmt":"2009-07-28T16:56:44","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-125-featuring-lita-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1743","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #125: Featuring Lita Judge"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“We kids had done it! All of Boston cheered.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge this image — and all of Lita’s images below.)<\/center><\/p>\n

Jules:<\/font><\/strong> Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, 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. <\/p>\n

<\/a>Today, 7-Imp welcomes author\/illustrator Lita Judge<\/strong><\/a>, who is here to share a bit of sneak-peek art from her forthcoming title, as well as some spreads from her most recent picture book (and the second title she’s both written and illustrated), Pennies for Elephants<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Hyperion, June 2009). Pennies<\/em>, based on actual events of the turn of the last century, tells the story of two young siblings, living in Boston in 1914, named Henry and Dorothy. They had only seen elephants “once in real life, when Grams took Henry and me to the circus. They were my favorites. Henry’s too,”<\/em> says Dorothy when she sees a newspaper boy one winter afternoon on a street corner, yellling, “Pennies for elephants! Pennies for elephants! Send in your pennies, your nickels, and dimes!”<\/em> It turns out that the Orfords, noted animal trainers there in Boston, were retiring from show business, yet the city of Boston couldn’t afford to buy the pachyderms—the performing elephants, named Mollie, Tony, and Waddy—for the zoo. Mr. and Mrs. Orford, however, were going to give the children of the city two months to collect $6,000 so that they could visit the animals at the zoo one day. Henry, then, gets a bright idea, and
“{w}hen Henry got an idea in his head, it was like fuel to a Studebaker.”<\/em> Thus begins the tale of how the children in Boston saved their nickels, pennies, and dimes to purchase the elephants for the city — beginning with Henry and Dorothy’s “entire life savings combined,”<\/em> one dollar and fourteen cents. <\/p>\n

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Pennies’ title page<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

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“‘Pennies for elephants! Pennies for elephants!<\/font> Send in your pennies, your nickels, and dimes!'”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

I’ve read Pennies<\/em>, and it spills over with joy. Lita’s story of children of all backgrounds banding together for a common community cause—painted on a bright palette that makes no apologies for color (Who needs coffee? Her sunny paintings will wake you right up.)—is engaging and brings to vivid life a bygone era. And it does so with a sweet nostalgia that could easily be too cloying, yet isn’t. Lita strikes just the right balance of warm-hearted and tender with spirited and compelling. And, according to the author’s note, cleverly painted right into an old 1914 newspaper article on the book’s endpages, Lita experienced her share of nausea, while reading decades’ worth of newspapers on microfilm for the book’s research. <\/p>\n

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“‘The elephants are going to parade through Boston. Marching bands and drum corps—the works!’ Henry read. We raced to the <\/em>Boston Post and signed up to be in the marching band.
I told baby Tony about the parade, and the governor coming, and how many people would be there. I told him every detail, over and over—so he wouldn’t be nervous.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Lita, who just got back from the ALA conference<\/strong><\/a>, is here today to say a bit about the book — and what’s next for her. I thank her for stopping by this morning and sharing her watercolors.<\/p>\n

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Lita: <\/strong><\/font>“<\/font>I stumbled onto this story of<\/em> Pennies for Elephants while reading a rather dry account of New England history. There was one brief sentence that described an event when the children of Boston earned enough money to purchase the first elephants for the Franklin Park Zoo in 1914, and that the elephants names where Mollie, Waddy, and Tony. That was it. My imagination painted the image of the three elephants parading into Fenway Park with crowds of children watching.<\/em><\/font> <\/p>\n

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“At last, the day arrived! Every seat was filled, and crowds spilled out onto the field as we marched into Fenway Park. Mollie, Waddy, and Tony trumpeted so loudly, they sounded like their own brass band.”<\/center><\/p>\n

I wanted to capture the nostalgic feel of the time period, and also illustrate the story in a way that was fun and contemporary. I experimented with the look of the characters, costumes, and colors. My process involves hundreds of sketches \u2013- I slowly create the gestures and expressions of my characters to reflect the story. One of my favorite parts of the process was working with models for reference -\u2013 I had costume parties in the backyard with neighborhood kids. They had a ball acting out the story, and their expressions and enthusiasm added a lot to the illustrations. And I also got to work with a trained elephant, which was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

I used watercolors with a light line of ink on top to emphasize the nostalgic feel. The colors are warm sepias with bright accents to capture a sense that the story takes place in 1914. But color is also used to reflect the fun, enthusiastic mood of the children in the story. The illustrations in<\/em> Pennies for Elephants captures a blend of paint and line work I always dreamed of creating.<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

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“Then the governor presented the elephants to the mayor. He tried to be very serious, but when Tony searched his pockets for a treat, everyone laughed.”<\/center><\/p>\n

My artistic influences mostly come from the time I\u2019ve spent looking at original artwork in museums. When I first started painting, I traveled to Europe over twenty times in about a five-year span. With my French-easel and dozens of blank canvases tucked under my arm, I painted street scenes of European cities and landscapes in the countryside with oil paint. I was able to sell these on-location paintings back home at galleries, and this financed my trips, so I could spend more time soaking up Old Master drawings and paintings in Russia, Italy, Sweden, France, and Spain. As I continued developing as an artist, I realized I loved the drawings of the Late 19th\/Early 20th century illustrators, like Harry Rountree<\/strong><\/a> and Howard Pyle<\/strong><\/a>. Eventually, I turned toward creating my own children\u2019s book illustrations. <\/p>\n

My first book as author and illustrator was <\/em>One Thousand Tracings<\/strong><\/a>, another story based on true events. <\/p>\n

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My next book is <\/em>Yellowstone Moran<\/strong><\/a>, which will be released on September 3 from Viking. This is a book I\u2019ve literally been dreaming of illustrating, since I was four years old. As a child, I spent several weeks every year camping in the Yellowstone region, while my parents photographed Grizzly Bears and other wildlife. I sat for hours, sketching in my journal and imagining what it must have been like to be an artist explorer, like Thomas Moran<\/strong><\/a>. I\u2019ve returned to Yellowstone National Park almost every year of my life, but always with the desire to tell Moran\u2019s story. To create the illustrations, I followed in his footsteps, reading his journals, painting at locations he painted, and eventually writing and illustrating this book.<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

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Again, the really curious can click on each of Lita’s spreads to see more of her warm watercolor action up close. I see at this link<\/strong><\/a> that my daughters share Lita’s own childhood love of dinosaurs. And that Lita got to paint some<\/strong><\/a> in 2007. Anyway, thanks to Lita for stopping by, especially for that sneak-peek look at Yellowstone Moran<\/em>.<\/p>\n

PENNIES FOR ELEPHANTS. Copyright \u00a9 2009 by Lita Judge. Published by Hyperion Books, New York, NY. Reproduced by permission of the author. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

YELLOWSTONE MORAN: PAINTING THE AMERICAN WEST. Copyright \u00a9 2009 by Lita Judge. Published by Viking, New York, NY. Reproduced by permission of the author. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

Did I ACTUALLY say “who needs coffee?” up there? I really like Lita’s watercolors, but I’ll always need coffee. Okay. Just clearing that up.<\/p>\n

1). The stargazer lilies my friend brought over bloomed this week. I love the name “stargazer lily.” They smell even better than their name. <\/p>\n

2). Illustrator Matthew Cordell<\/strong><\/a> (who visited me here<\/strong><\/a>, remember?) has started a new blog feature—very much not unlike our kicks—in which he’ll list his Top Tens. His favorite things of the moment, that is. And in his first post ever<\/strong><\/a> like that, 7-Imp is #8! Thanks, Matt. Especially since I like pretty much everything else there and enjoy its company on the list. Kalamata olives. Neil Young. NUTELLA. Excellent. (I haven’t met his beautiful daughter, Romy, but I like her anyway, too. I mean, just look at her.)<\/p>\n

3). The music of Elbow<\/strong><\/a> (thanks, Jill). Check out where they got their band name in that link there. I love that. <\/p>\n

And this right here below is a good song, is what it is (“Grounds for Divorce”). With one unforgettable opening line. Turn it up, man: <\/p>\n

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4). Naomi Shihab Nye’s<\/strong><\/a> response to Roger Sutton’s query, “have you ever seen a ghost?” It’s in the comments of this post<\/strong><\/a>. I don’t know why that’s a kick. It’s just creepy-good. <\/p>\n

5). So, here’s where you all will try to revoke my library degree, because I have to admit something shameful in this kick. Let’s get the admission out of the way: I have never actually read a Junie B. Jones<\/strong><\/a><\/em> book. I know, I know. Children’s librarian. Never read Junie<\/em>. Reprehensible. But, I dunno, I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Yet. I recently got an unsolicited review copy of Junie B.’s Essential Survival Guide to School<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. It sat around a while, and then I picked it up and read it to my five-year-old. There were several spots in the book in which we thought we’d stop breathing from laughing so hard. When she wrote that she would add a flyswatter to her<\/em> school supply list, if she were in charge of it, “on account of there is always someone who needs a teensy swat. And that is just a fact,”<\/em> my five-year-old literally fell over laughing. That child. She has her father’s sadistic sense of humor. Okay, her mother’s, too. <\/p>\n

6). You know this poster<\/strong><\/a>? That’s me. (Except add movie-watching in there.) But sometimes I will actually watch a little bit of television. I caught this on Conan<\/em> the other night when I was too tired to do anything but veg in front of a talking box. If you can get past the boob jokes, the actual voicing-over of the anime cracked me up somethin’ fierce. (Sorry about the ad at the beginning.)<\/p>\n

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7). Yesterday Betsy Bird<\/strong><\/a> reviewed the latest picture book of German author\/illustrator Sebastian Meschenmoser<\/strong><\/a> (WHEW, look at those paintings at his web site’s home page), Waiting for Winter<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (Kane\/Miller). I happen to have a copy of this book, too (an early copy, I thought, but I guess it’s already out. Der. This is what happens when you’re unorganized, as I am, and have a lot of your books sitting around in piles). Speaking of books that make you laugh outloud a lot (as I did above), this is another one of those. This picture book is winning in every way, and it is hysterical. Betsy pretty much agrees<\/strong><\/a>. In fact, we’re already talking about perhaps co-posting about it or trying to interview the man; the latter would make me extremely happy, as I particularly lurv talking to international illustrators. I don’t know what I’ll do, but it’s simply a fabulous picture book. So, more on that later. The kick here is that someone else has a deep and abiding love for it, as I do. <\/p>\n

* * * eisha’s kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

1* I love those watercolor mountains and waterfalls. And the detail in the Pennies<\/em> spreads.<\/p>\n

2* Well now, Elbow just became my new favorite band. Who ever thought of using a beer stein as a percussion instrument? Thanks, J.<\/p>\n

3* Remember how last weekend I was in the Berkshires? It was to see the latest show my husband designed, Underneath the Lintel<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. It’s an interesting piece that combines some of my very favorite things: a librarian protagonist, mythology, a hint of the supernatural, and an impossible quest. I liked it. And obviously, the set was brilliant.<\/p>\n

Glynis Bell as the librarian in Underneath the Lintel.<\/p>\n

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier, with beautiful cover art by Kinuko Y. Craft.4* Old friends. I’m missing the Poets Upstairs something awful since they moved, but I’ve enjoyed their blog posts<\/strong><\/a> from the road, and we’re keeping in touch through email.<\/p>\n

5* New friends. One of our visiting researchers and I have struck up a friendship over the past couple of weeks, and we had a lovely lunch on Saturday. Alas! he’s going back home, but that’s what Facebook is for.<\/p>\n

6* I got a magic dress<\/strong><\/a>! It’s flattering (I think), it’s washable, it’s even dryable. I dressed it up with fancy sandals for a play, and dressed it down with flip-flops for work. It’s so comfortable it feels like I’m wearing a big t-shirt, but I get compliments every time I wear it. Also, it was $30. I wish it came in more colors – I would have bought them all.<\/p>\n

7* I finally started reading Wildwood Dancing<\/em> by Juliet Marillier<\/strong><\/a>. I know, I know… I’m like two years behind the rest of you. But see, I’ve read two of her Sevenwaters<\/em> trilogy books, and I liked them (particularly the first<\/strong><\/a>) but didn’t loooove<\/em> them, so I’ve been a little skeptical of all the Wildwood<\/em> hype. I have to say, though, it’s pretty good so far.<\/p>\n

*BONUS KICK*<\/p>\n

Yet another reason to love McSweeney’s: this “transcript”<\/strong><\/a> of the Apollo 11 mission recordings that we didn’t get to hear.<\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font> kicks this week?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“We kids had done it! All of Boston cheered.”(Click to enlarge this image — and all of Lita’s images below.) Jules: Welcome to 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks, 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 […]<\/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-1743","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\/1743","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=1743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}