{"id":2132,"date":"2011-05-08T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2011-05-08T06:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2132"},"modified":"2011-05-08T07:18:36","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T13:18:36","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-218-featuring-mini-grey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2132","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #218: Featuring Mini Grey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“On a pebbly stretch of shore in a beach hut by the sea, there lived
a black cat, a white dog, and a little gray mouse.”<\/em>
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<\/a>The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books<\/em> once described one of Mini Grey’s<\/a><\/strong> picture books as “expectation-busting.” I love that, because, first of all, don’t you get weary sometimes of the descriptors used for many picture books? Maybe I read too many reviews, but there’s “whimsical,” “quirky,” and “sweet,” to name a few. Yes, they’re necessary, and you gotta call it like it is, but “expectation-busting”? Right on. Breath of fresh air. It’s also great, ’cause it’s generally true for Mini’s work. (Many of her books—think about it—also usually deal, in one way or another, with death, though they’re never macabre.) Her latest title, Three By the Sea<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (click the cover to the left to supersize it)—released by Knopf in April, though originally published in Great Britain in 2010—is Mini doing what she does best: Funny, sly, thought-provoking. And she, once again, cracks some of those expectations wide open. That’s for sure. <\/p>\n

You see, I thought the story was going one way and telling me one thing, and then it threw me for a loop. I like this. Oh, right. Brief synopsis first, an illustrated synopsis: <\/p>\n

“On a pebbly stretch of shore in a beach hut by the sea, there lived a black cat, a white dog, and a little gray mouse.” This trio has their routines down pat: Dog takes care of the garden; the cat, the housework; and the mouse, the cooking. And they were happy. Well, they thought<\/em> they were. <\/p>\n

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“The cat took care of the housework.”<\/em>
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“The mouse looked after the cooking. And they lived happily. Or so they thought.”<\/em>
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One night, a Stranger—a fox deposited on the shore line—shows up. Here’s where we first see him, on the book’s title page:<\/p>\n

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If you look closely at his briefcase, he works for Winds of Change. Furthermore, after inviting himself in, he explains that the three of them were the lucky winners of a free visit from the Winds of Change Trading Company. “He explained that if you felt strangely discontented, or wondered if your life was missing a special Something, then Winds of Change was the company for you. And, of course, everything was ABSOLUTELY FREE.” Slowly, the Stranger works his charms on the animals, convincing them that things could be better. Perhaps they were all just putting up with nonsense from their roommates. For instance, Mouse makes fondue every night, the Stranger points out to Cat, insinuating that consistently cheesy meals must<\/em> get old, and he follows that up with some free gifts from the suitcase: <\/p>\n

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After a while, Mouse—deciding he’ll run away and travel to where he may be appreciated already—almost drowns at sea, but Cat saves him. Or, er, tries to. But no worries: Dog appears and saves them all. And that’s ’cause, even when your roommates get on your last flippin’ nerve, you still save them from the watery darkness. <\/p>\n

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“That night while Cat and Dog were trying to sleep, Mouse was packing his things, planning to travel to somewhere where his cooking was appreciated.”<\/em>
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“At about midnight the cat woke with a lurch and a sinking feeling that something was wrong. She walked along the seafront. On the pebbles was a bundle of things—the sort of things that belonged to Mouse. Through the roar of the sea her keen ears heard a desperate faraway squeak.”<\/em>
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“Dog was a good swimmer, good enough for all three of them.
Dog carried them all to safety on the shore.”<\/em>
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When they return, the Stranger is gone and has left some seeds. And, subsequently, their lives change for the better. The menu gets a bit more experimental; the animals switch up their daily chores; and they begin to cultivate their new gardens. “Grey’s wonderfully expressive, richly textured mixed-media collages leap and bound with funny details,” writes Kirkus<\/em>, adding that “{v}ivacious design elements such as comic-strip\u2013like panels for action sequences and cut strips of type for the dialogue in the climactic fight add further fun.”<\/p>\n

Where I thought this was heading? The pernicious nature of advertising to make us feel inadequate about our lives. Could you still read it that way? Sure. But is it possible the Stranger merely did them a favor, put a kick in the step of their humdrum lives and routines? Yup. This is<\/em> Mini Grey we’re talkin’ here: She gives child readers enough respect for them to ponder it on their own and come to their own decisions. Here’s what Mini had to say about it when I asked her if she could pretty please share some illustrations this morning:<\/p>\n

It’s a funny (strange) sort of story. I was thinking about a mismatched sort of family of a white dog, a black cat, and a little grey mouse, who live together in a beach hut. Traditionally, dogs, cats, and mice are supposed to be sworn enemies, but these ones don’t know that. They all have their own jobs to do and live happily together — until a stranger blows in one night and disrupts their comfortable existence. They look again at their household set-up and start to find it wanting. Seeds of discontent have been sown.<\/p>\n

After a blazing row, everyone has an uncomfortable night (except the Stranger). Mouse storms off, but is swept into the sea. I wanted the pictures of their life on the beach to be full of space and light and breeze. (And pebbles.) As the story goes on, the pictures get more fragmented. I’m not sure myself about that mysterious stranger — he’s not really bad or good, more a sort of whiff of discontentment and instigator of change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here are some peeks into Mini’s sketchbook. (Click each to enlarge.) I thank her for sharing this morning:<\/p>\n

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THREE BY THE SEA. Copyright \u00a9 2010 by Mini Grey. First American Edition \u00a9 2011. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. All images reproduced by permission of Ms. Grey.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Note for any new readers: 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. <\/p>\n

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* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone. If I were organized, I’d have Mother’s Day art, but I welcome Mini Grey with glee any<\/em> day. <\/p>\n

1)<\/strong><\/font> I turned 39 this week and was reminded what a lucky person I am to have such kind family and friends in my life. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> This birthday greeting from Elbow<\/a><\/strong> (one of Best Most Favorite If-You-Have-Something-Negative-to-Say-About-Them-Please-Say-It-Behind-My-Back Bands) CRACKED ME UP. I am not sure how it is I received this. I don’t recall ever entering my birthday information into any sort of Elbow website. But I’ll take Guy Garvey’s brooding-yet-sort-of-slightly-bemused birthday greeting any ‘ol time. <\/p>\n

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Wait. I was supposed to say that we’re best buds and those guys sent that right before<\/em> they called me up to go play some pool with them ’cause they wanted to buy me a beer for my birthday. Yup. That’s what I meant. We’re like THIS, me and those lads. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> I got peanut butter cake and this<\/a><\/strong>, ’cause I’m a ginormous nerd. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> All this linky goodness:<\/p>\n