{"id":1913,"date":"2010-03-28T00:01:18","date_gmt":"2010-03-28T06:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2010-03-28T00:02:44","modified_gmt":"2010-03-28T06:02:44","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-160-featuring-red-nose-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1913","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #160: Featuring Red Nose Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“The <\/em>Break of Dawn was a happy little tugboat. Her captain <\/em>and crew was Cap’m Duffy St. Pierre, a crusty old sailor. Together they tugged the Garbage Barge
down the East Coast of America…”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread.)<\/center><\/p>\n

Here Comes the Garbage Barge<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Schwartz & Wade Books, February 2010) is one of the most striking picture books I’ve seen this year. I’m rather ashamed to say I had the chance to interview both the author, Johah Winter (who wrote, amongst other great titles, this<\/a><\/strong> fabulous book), and Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studio<\/strong><\/a>, who created the art for the book, but I’ve had so much on my plate lately that I had to turn down that opportunity. This PAINS me. And I really hope that I can chat with them at a later date. At the very least, I have two spreads from the book to show you today. <\/p>\n

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“Garbage,”<\/font><\/em>this book opens. “Big, heaping, stinking mounds of garbage. Big bags of garbage on the sidewalk. Garbage trucks overflowing with garbage. Landfills reaching up to the heavens with more and more garbage, garbage, GARBAGE!<\/font> Did you know that the average American makes about four pounds of garbage every day?”<\/em> Well, before everyone recycled, in the town of Islip, New York, the average person made seven<\/em> pounds of garbage. They had, to be precise about it, 3,168 tons of garbage and nowhere to put it. “Enter the Garbage Barge!”<\/font> As Kristi Jemtegaard points out in the Washington Post<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, this picture book is a bit of a hybrid: A cautionary tale and a fable (though the story’s based on real events from 1987), which “has its plasticized tongue planted firmly in its polymer cheek.” <\/p>\n

Gino Stroffolino, “this guy in the garbage business,” came up with the plan to have the barge carry the Long Island garbage down to North Carolina. Mr. Stroffolino’s friend in North Carolina, Joey LaMotta, tells him everything is arranged. “You bring me dat garbage—I’ll take care of it,” the plan being that some poor farmers would be paid to take the trash and bury it. On March 22, 1987, the plucky tugboat, the Break of Dawn<\/em>, led by Cap’m Duffy, begins its long journey south, only to be greeted with “{i}n our beautiful harbor?…What the hairy heck? That ain’t right! Call the law!”<\/p>\n

And on it goes. They try Tony Cafone in New Orleans (“We’ve got enough of our own trash…Call the coast guard!”); John Smith down in Mexico (“\u00a1V\u00e1yase!” yells the Mexican Navy and their very big guns when the barge arrives); Rico D’Amico near Mexico (“‘KUNGO!” they shouted, Winter adding “{r}oughly translated, that means “Fuhgeddaboudit!”); and so on. “Six weeks had passed since the Garbage Barge had set out, and the garbage was getting REALLY FUNKY. Nobody wanted it.”<\/em> Finally, the ever-patient Cap’m Duffy radios Mr. Stroffoloni to quit already. He’s had enough. He’s told to take the trash back to Long Island and stop along Texas (with its angry cowboys) and Florida (with its angry grandparents, even if they are floating in duck-shaped rubber tubes at the shore) along the way. No takers. Even the Statue of Liberty, once Cap’m Duffy arrives back home, is holding her nose. The Garbage Barge is met with protest. Finally, the good news, straight from Gino Stroffolino himself: “Here’s da deal: Brooklyn’s gonna take dat garbage and burn it. A judge told ’em dey had to. See, dey got dis ‘incinerator.” Brooklyn to the rescue. <\/p>\n

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“The mayor could see the Garbage Barge way off on the horizon. News of the wandering garbage had already reached him. ‘We’ve got enough of our own trash,’ he told his staff. ‘Call the coast guard!'”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread.)<\/center><\/p>\n

Two reasons I love this book. Well, three: It’s well-written. The obvious moral, yelled loudly on the endpages with the book’s aforementioned tongue in its aforementioned cheek, “DON’T MAKE SO MUCH GARBAGE!!!” And the art from Chris Sickels, the creative force behind Red Nose Studio. As the back of the book’s dust jacket lays out for readers (pretty cool, though I guess library users will be unable to read it), he first sketched out the entire book in pencil; then sculpted the heads with polymer clay and baked them in his kitchen oven; hand-painted the faces and built the bodies out of wire and foam; tailored and sewed the clothing onto each one; created five interchangeable heads for Cap’m Duffy’s one body; made the tugboat from the trash in his studio (perfect); built the barge from odd pieces of cardboard and wood, adding garbage from the street; constructed the sets and painted the backdrops; and then, of course, took photographs of each scene. <\/p>\n

Whew. <\/p>\n

As the Publishers Weekly<\/em> review puts it, the message is the medium in this truly funky-weird picture book. I love funky-weird. They didn’t call it that. I did. And oh yeah: We all need to make less trash. Can’t tell today’s children that enough. Why not tell ’em with this eye-popping and very fun book? <\/p>\n

p.s. Check out Red Nose Studio’s great blog<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n

HERE COMES THE GARBAGE BARGE by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio \u00a9 2010. Spreads used with permission of Schwartz & Wade Books, New York, NY.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

As a reminder, 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a 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. New folks are always welcome. <\/p>\n

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

1). Eisha! She’s in town! We had dinner! We had wine! We had tiramisu! We listened to the Pixies very loudly in my car on the way to the restaurant! <\/p>\n

We drew this at our table at dinner. Long story, but our waiter promised he would hang it up in the back:<\/p>\n

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2). Even though she doesn’t know who I am anymore, getting some brief alone time and silence with my 98-year-old grandmother this week. And holding her beautiful hands while she sat there and napped. <\/p>\n

3). ↓<\/font><\/p>\n

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4). Well, why we’re on the subject of re-discovering kick-ass older CDs, there’s this song from Gillian Welch<\/a><\/strong> and David Rawlings<\/a><\/strong> (from this CD<\/strong><\/a>) that I love so much and reacquainted myself with this week (due to my husband leaving the CD sitting out). Also I love the small orbits David Rawlings makes with his body when he plays live:<\/p>\n

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5). Though it’s hard to top this older tune-age, clearly I need some new<\/em> music in my life. Wait: There’s Patty Griffin’s<\/a><\/strong> new CD<\/a><\/strong>, which also rather made my week. Though Patty has said herself she’s got her own internal struggles with religion, she released a gospel CD. BUT OF COURSE. This is<\/em> Ms. Griffin we’re talking ’bout. She can belt it out like nobody’s business. What a work of art this performance is. Also: I want that dress. <\/p>\n

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What with that kind of music and “Graceland,” I’ve been dancing a lot this week. <\/p>\n

6). A lovely gift of a lovely book from a lovely friend. <\/p>\n

7). Spring. And Spring Break with my kindergartener, though on Day One of said break, you would have thought she and her sister were the world’s most pathetic, deprived kids with absolutely no toys to play with and absolutely no imagination with which to pass the time. I got a sense of what summer might be like. Hoo boy. <\/p>\n

Two Super Cool & Super Keen Notes:<\/font> <\/p>\n

1). The International Board on Books for Young People<\/a><\/strong> has just announced that Author David Almond<\/strong><\/a> (UK) and Illustrator Jutta Bauer<\/a><\/strong> (Germany) are the winners of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award. Here’s<\/a><\/strong> more info. <\/p>\n

Speaking of David Almond, check out what is soon to be released<\/strong><\/a> (April) from Candlewick:<\/p>\n

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When David Almond and Polly Dunbar team up<\/a><\/strong>, I’m happy. I’ve got an early copy and just started reading it. <\/p>\n

2). Look at<\/a><\/strong> what good taste President Obama has in children’s lit. <\/p>\n

Last, but not least: <\/p>\n

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FARIDA!<\/font><\/marquee><\/p>\n

I got Farida’s<\/strong><\/a> permission to announce this, and she said it was fine, especially if I were bombastic about it. Bombastic I can handle. May Farida have a birthday as beautiful as she is. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Break of Dawn was a happy little tugboat. Her captain and crew was Cap’m Duffy St. Pierre, a crusty old sailor. Together they tugged the Garbage Barge down the East Coast of America…”(Click to enlarge spread.) Here Comes the Garbage Barge (Schwartz & Wade Books, February 2010) is one of the most striking picture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1913","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\/1913","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}