{"id":1772,"date":"2009-08-30T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2009-08-30T06:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1772"},"modified":"2009-08-31T21:46:23","modified_gmt":"2009-09-01T03:46:23","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-130-featuring-jean-gralley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1772","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #130: Featuring Jean Gralley"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jules:<\/strong><\/font> This is the castle—high, high in the air and from long ago—of King Yonderfel: “King Yonderfel ruled the castle and he ruled it splendidly. All day long he stood at the gate, calling ‘Come in, come in!’ to all who passed by, and never ever turned anyone away.”<\/em> As a result, his castle was a happy place, not to mention very crowded. <\/p>\n

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I decided to feature this book today after having had several conversations with different friends this week about how, on some days, there seem to be diminishing levels of…well, good ‘ol-fashioned common courtesy in the world. (Warning: This is number 7,001 in my Grumpy Old Man Series.) Author\/illustrator Jean Gralley’s<\/strong><\/a> Yonderfel’s Castle: A Medieval Fable<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, to be released in September by Henry Holt, is the antidote, the “breezy tale” (Kirkus Reviews<\/em>) of what happens when someone’s great kindness is forgotten. <\/p>\n

All is happy and festive at the castle, as you can see in the opening party-central illustration above, until one day Ogre Guy shows up at the back door, announcing that he’ll be doubling the rent on the mountain. “(He owned the mountain and could do that, even to a king.)”<\/em> Check out his mwahahahaha-evil cape: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When King Yonderfel responds that he lets his people stay for free and that he can only give half of what Ogre Guy is asking, Ogre Guy decides to take half the mountain. (These two illustrations below make up one spread, but in order for you to see it better, I separated them.)<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

Well, “{t}o lose half a mountain is embarrassing, especially for a king.”<\/em> People tried not to notice, out of politeness, but what were they to do when flat things were sliding, round things were rolling, and “high-strung pets were crashing and bashing to the bottom of the cliff”<\/em>? The villagers, momentarily forgetting the king’s generosity, complained: “Woe is us! This is what comes of having a nincombooby for a king!”<\/em> Everyone leaves and the king tries desperately to woo them back (in a very funny spread showing him trying to make the best of things), but—in the end—he is left completely alone, passing the time by knitting guest towels. <\/p>\n

When a big rain comes and the villagers are in a bind, they remember how King Yonderfel never turned anyone away. Needless to say, the King has lots of guest towels to offer them for drying off when they return, and he’s even thrilled to see the freeloaders. Once again crowded, the castle—still on half a mountain—starts to teeter and totter. And, just as everyone is gasping to feel it doing so, a voice is heard in the distance, out in the water: “‘Let me in! Take me in, please!'”<\/em> Yup, it’s Ogre Guy. And “{f}or the first time ever, Yonderfel wasn’t sure what a good king should do”<\/em>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Deciding to do “what he’d always done before,” he offers his hand to Ogre Guy, which—as you can see here—doesn’t sit well with the villagers and causes a bit of an upset to the castle:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“And so . . . it <\/em>seemed like the end.”<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

…But I’m not going to give away the ending. Oh no I’m not, in case any of you want to read it for yourselves. <\/p>\n

I like this book, and I really like the humor and art, both of them wonderfully wry. <\/p>\n

And, though I try not to get terribly political at the blog, I also share it today in honor of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who—in our President’s words—was “a champion for those who had none.” May he rest in peace. <\/p>\n

As a reminder, 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is 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

New kickers are always welcome. As King Yonderfel might say, come in, come in!<\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/center><\/p>\n

YONDERFEL’S CASTLE. Copyright \u00a9 2009 by Jean Gralley. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Henry Holt, New York, NY. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

1). My five-year-old did a random watercolor painting this week, her version of this van Gogh print on our living room wall:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I wasn’t organized enough this weekend to have scanned it to show you (her watercolor, that is)—not to mention kid-art is, arguably, only appealing to the parent—but it’s really beautiful. And I was surprised she’d paid that much attention to the painting. <\/p>\n

2). We took the girls yesterday to see Ponyo<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. I went based on Roger Sutton’s zippy-quick review<\/strong><\/a>. I love me some weird-ass children’s movies. Also, because I have a habit of getting to theaters entirely too early (whether play or film, must. get. there. early.), we saw a behind-the-scenes thingy on the Where the Wild Things Are<\/strong><\/a><\/em> film that involved Spike Jonze talking to Sendak. And, no kidding, I had to stop myself from standing up in the theater, doing an arm pump, and yelling, “Sendak!” I truly almost did that. <\/p>\n

My husband says he’s gonna start doing his eyes like Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father. Whaddya think?<\/p>\n

\"Where<\/p>\n

3). Evidently, according to my three-year-old, there are fairies flying in my heart. And this is good.<\/p>\n

4). I don’t want to be all name-droppy, because I don’t like excessively name-droppy people, but this was truly a kick for me: An author\/illustrator I interviewed this week, who may or may not have shared an image of horse poop (you’ll NEVER guess who I’m talking about, right?) told me 7-Imp is a “beautiful blog.” Sure, he’s a Caldecott-Medal winner whose art I very much like, which is nice, but when any<\/em>one compliments the blog in that kind of way (commenting on the blog’s images and sense of design), it makes me particularly smile-y. <\/p>\n

5). I randomly picked up at my library Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, written by Emily Bearn<\/strong><\/a> and with illustrations by Nick Price. (I love those serendipitous finds in the stacks.) I’m reading it with my girls, and it’s proven to be a wonderful read-aloud. It was evidently released in April of this year. It reeks with charm and very fun details that would make Anglophiles squeal, and lots of scones and gingerbread are involved. I always want a good snack when we’ve finished a chapter. (See what I mean?<\/strong><\/a> I just found that. I see baking in my near future.)<\/p>\n

6). My husband and I finally finished all the seasons of 30 Rock<\/strong><\/em><\/a> that are on DVD. I think. And we started watching this odd, little Mad Men<\/em><\/strong><\/a> show, which I’ve wanted to see ever since Jon Hamm was on SNL<\/em> last Fall — and before my Facebook friends went wild with “MadMenning” themselves<\/strong><\/a>. Hey, I’ll MadMen myself now, just for fun:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

7). My three-year-old survived her older sister being away at Kindergarten for her first full week. It’s been tough on her, but she’s hanging in there with determination and courage. <\/p>\n

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

1* King Yonderfel. I just love that name. Can’t wait to see how that book ends.<\/p>\n

2* Right now I’m listening to one of my favorite birthday presents, a (shh! bootleg) recording of a concert Wilco<\/strong><\/a> did at the Tennessee Theatre<\/strong><\/a>, one of the prettiest venues in existence anywhere. I wish to goodness I could have been there, but just listening is pretty sweet too.<\/p>\n

See? Told you.<\/a><\/p>\n

3* I got to play teacher for a day. I led a discussion group of new Cornell freshman on The Grapes of Wrath<\/em> for the New Student Reading Project<\/strong><\/a>. It was fun! And those kids are SMART. I know, you’d kind of expect it, right? But still, it was a pleasant surprise just how much thought some of them had put into the text.<\/p>\n

4* I also got to lead two tour groups of new students through our library, and give them a show-and-tell of some of the cool stuff in our collections. It was a blast. And it’s been hinted (threatened?) that I’ll be leading some of the tours of the Lincoln exhibition<\/strong><\/a> once it goes up this fall.<\/p>\n

5* Coincidence! The husband and I finally started watching Mad Men<\/em><\/strong><\/a> this week too. Wow, ya’ll. That really is an interesting show, and it makes me so glad I didn’t have to live in the ’50s. The show makes it seem like women with any intelligence and sensitivity could hardly survive.<\/p>\n

Take poor Betty here, for example.<\/a><\/p>\n

And yeah, I Mad-Mennified myself too:<\/p>\n

Me, as a \u201950s ad agency steno girl.<\/p>\n

6* Saturday afternoon I went with some friends to see Moon<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, that sci-fi movie starring Sam Rockwell (one of my favorite actors who should be better known already). It’s pretty good. Kind of like if Solaris<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and 2001<\/strong><\/em><\/a> had a baby. (A baby movie<\/em>, I mean, not a big space-baby<\/strong><\/a> like at the end of 2001<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Moon: the last place you\u2019d ever expect to find yourself. (Bitchin\u2019 tagline.)<\/a><\/p>\n

7* Thursday night I had a little incident involving my fingers and a very hot baking pan (did you guys know that on gas stoves that drawer underneath is a BROILER??? I grew up with electric, and had no idea). It hurt like I’d shaken hands with the devil himself all evening, but the husband ran out and got me burn ointment and gauze and these weird water-based burn pads<\/strong><\/a> and wrapped ’em up. By Friday morning it felt fine, and now I’m even able to take the bandages off to type. I don’t even think my scars are going to be as spectacular as I’d hoped. <\/p>\n

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

Jules: This is the castle—high, high in the air and from long ago—of King Yonderfel: “King Yonderfel ruled the castle and he ruled it splendidly. All day long he stood at the gate, calling ‘Come in, come in!’ to all who passed by, and never ever turned anyone away.” As a result, his castle was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772","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=1772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}