{"id":1975,"date":"2010-08-05T07:00:16","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2010-08-05T07:00:16","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T13:00:16","slug":"random-international-illustrator-featurenina-rycroft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1975","title":{"rendered":"Random (International) Illustrator Feature:
Nina Rycroft"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“BOOM! BAH!<\/em> Here we go!”<\/center><\/p>\n

Here’s another quick international art stop today, featuring two 2010 picture book titles illustrated by Australian artist Nina Rycroft<\/a><\/strong>, who has been honored by the Children\u2019s Book Council of Australia. I need this first title to help wake me up, as I haven’t had the sweet brown lifeblood that is coffee. Yet. <\/p>\n

That first very joyous picture book comes from Australian author Phil Cummings. First published in ’08 in Australia, Boom Bah!<\/a><\/em><\/strong> was published here in the U.S. in March of this year. (Click on each image in this post to enlarge the spreads and see in more detail.)<\/p>\n

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The book opens with one small action:<\/p>\n

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Soon, the cat joins in, and then even more animals gather around, all joining in the indoor merry-making. Cavorting around the house, the excitement builds, as Cummings in his minimalist, buoyant, rhythmic text, eventually introduces a band, a troupe of snazzily-dressed animals who approach the house, and all the creatures join in the musical parade. It’s a great story-time read (“just be ready to break out the rhythm instruments and kazoos,” writes Booklist<\/em>). <\/p>\n

Rycroft’s illustrations, rendered in watercolor and cont\u00e9 pencil, exude cheer on a sunny, light-infused palette.<\/p>\n

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“A box, a bowl, A spoon, a stick. Tap! Tap! Clickety-click!”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

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BOOM BAH! Very<\/em> loud!”<\/center><\/p>\n

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Tra-la-la! Ring! Ring! Tra-la-la! Sing! Sing!<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

And, quickly, since I hear the coffee brewing, the second title Rycroft illustrated this year, Ballroom Bonanza: A Hidden Pictures ABC Book<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, is from another Australian, Stephen Harris, an April picture book release from Abrams. In this title, a group of animals, dressed extravagantly for a dance competition, meet up in this musical-instrument seek-and-find, ABC book. <\/p>\n

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Graeme Base<\/a><\/strong> fans will find much to like (“a style reminiscent of…Base but with less crisp definition,” wrote the Kirkus<\/em> review), and I marvel at Rycroft’s departure in style for the two titles. These are “lavish” (Publishers Weekly) pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, a far cry from the understated simplicity of her art work for Boom Bah!<\/em> See for yourself: <\/p>\n

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“Elephants like belly-dancing, \/ Entertaining all their friends — \/
Watch their bellies wibble-wobble \/ Even when the music ends.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread.)<\/center><\/p>\n

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“When the rhinos do the rumba \/ No one can believe their eyes. \/
Hardly anything is broken, Much to everyone’s surprise.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread.)<\/center><\/p>\n

Enjoy the art. As for me, the coffee calls. Until next time…<\/p>\n

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

Illustrations from BOOM BAH! \u00a9 First American Edition 2010 by Phil Cummings, illustrations by Nina Rycroft. Used with the permission of Kane Miller.<\/em><\/p>\n

Illustrations from BALLROOM BONANZA \u00a9 2010 by Stephen Harris, illustrations by Nina Rycroft. Used with the permission of Abrams.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“BOOM! BAH! Here we go!” Here’s another quick international art stop today, featuring two 2010 picture book titles illustrated by Australian artist Nina Rycroft, who has been honored by the Children\u2019s Book Council of Australia. I need this first title to help wake me up, as I haven’t had the sweet brown lifeblood that is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1975","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\/1975","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=1975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}