{"id":2367,"date":"2012-06-13T16:43:28","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T22:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2367"},"modified":"2012-06-13T19:19:58","modified_gmt":"2012-06-14T01:19:58","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfastwith-emily-arnold-mccully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2367","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast
with Emily Arnold McCully"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a real pleasure to have Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully<\/a><\/strong> visiting 7-Imp today. This is Emily pictured here, as a child, circa mid-1940s. As she notes at the bio at her site<\/a><\/strong>, she was a daredevil girl, born in Illinois but raised in a New York City suburb. Her hero was John Muir<\/a><\/strong>, and she decided to be a naturalist one day, but instead she grew up to write and illustrate stories about fellow daredevil girls, lucky for us readers. <\/p>\n

Throughout her career in children’s literature, Emily hasn’t stuck to only one style of illustrating. As you’ll read below, she uses cartoon-like art for beginning reader titles and more dramatic pen-and-ink watercolors for her picture book biographies, many of them, as noted, about young girls or women. But, no matter the style in which she’s working, she nails it — the emotional tone, that is. Whether she’s raising the hairs on the backs of our necks in Eve Bunting’s<\/a><\/strong> tales (Ballywhinney Girl<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and The Banshee<\/a><\/em><\/strong>); bringing to vivid life the stories of historical figures via her watercolors, both sweeping and delicate (The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, for which she received the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award<\/a><\/strong>, or Manjiro: The Boy Who Risked His Life for Two Countries<\/strong><\/a><\/em>); or making young, emerging readers laugh with the carefree art of her Grandma<\/em> I Can Read<\/strong><\/a> chapter books, she’s expertly creating atmosphere, putting to great use light and shadow and her shimmering watercolors to set a mood and tell a rich tale. <\/p>\n

It was for her beautiful impressionistic paintings in Mirette on the High Wire<\/a><\/strong><\/em> that Emily won the 1993 Caldecott Medal, and she received the Christopher Award<\/a><\/strong> in 1985 for the splendid tale that is Picnic<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

And it’s been many years now I’ve enjoyed her books, along with my own children, so I thank her for taking the time to visit today. She has at least two new picture books already out this year (you’ll see those 2012 titles and some art from them below), but since she’s hard to keep up with, I may even have that wrong. And surely there’s more to come this year. <\/p>\n

Her breakfast-of-choice? Strong coffee, oatmeal, and an orange. I can do that, especially the strong coffee part. I’ll set the table, while getting the basics from her, before seven questions over breakfast. <\/p>\n

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

Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Emily<\/font><\/strong>: Author\/Illustrator.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

Spread from <\/em>Manjiro: The Boy Who Risked His Life for Two Countries<\/strong><\/a>
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

Emily<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n