{"id":2450,"date":"2012-10-28T00:01:32","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T06:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2450"},"modified":"2012-10-28T11:52:22","modified_gmt":"2012-10-28T17:52:22","slug":"7-imp%e2%80%99s-7-kicks-303-featuringjed-henry-patrick-mcdonnell-and-ashley-wolff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2450","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #303: Featuring
Jed Henry, Patrick McDonnell, and Ashley Wolff"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
 

\nIt’s almost Halloween, y’all. What are you<\/em> going as? <\/p>\n

I’ve got some Halloween-esque illustrations today. I’m opening with a piece of art that arrived in my mailbox this week from Ashley Wolff<\/a><\/strong>. Remember this beautiful 2012 picture book<\/a><\/strong> of hers? Well, here’s Baby Bear again, this time exploring orange, I suppose, with his pumpkin. I love it, and I thank Ashley for this and for letting me share it here today. <\/p>\n

But I’ve also got some illustrations from Patrick McDonnell’s<\/a><\/strong> The Monsters’ Monster<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (have you SEEN this great book yet?) … <\/p>\n


\n

“. . . thankful to be ALIVE!<\/font>“<\/em><\/center>
\n
 

\n… as well as Susan Hood’s<\/a><\/strong> Just Say BOO!<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, illustrated by Jed Henry<\/a><\/strong>: <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“If the ghosts in the trees wibble-wobble your knees, what do you say?”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/p>\n

McDonnell’s The Monsters’ Monster<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, released by Little, Brown in September, is the reason my girls and I have been walking around, saying “DANK YOU!” very loudly all week. This is the very funny story of Grouch, Grump, and little Gloom ‘n’ Doom, who “thought they were monsters.” See these tiny guys to the left? (Can you guess which might be Gloom ‘n’ Doom?) They live in a “dark monster castle, high atop a dark monster mountain, overlooking a monster-fearing village.” Filled with monster thoughts and lots of grump and bad moods, they argue over who’s the scariest and biggest and baddest. One gets the sense they’re rarely, if ever, actually threatening<\/em>. <\/p>\n

To settle the argument one day, they create a monster, whom you see pictured above. McDonnell builds the tension as the monster springs to life and reaches toward them only to … well, to say “Dank you!” and proceed to give them a giant monster hug. Turns out he’s a big softie, and McDonnell pulls off the humor of all this to great effect with his illustrations: The monster is big and bulky, but demure and unassuming. And, as you can see above, he’s simply thankful to be alive. <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“…He carefully opened the bag and gave each of them a warm, powdered jelly doughnut. Grouch, Grump, and Gloom ‘n’ Doom were speechless.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and see entire image with text)<\/center><\/p>\n

I don’t want to give away the ending, but trust me when I say this one is worth hunting down and experiencing. There’s a lot of humor and heart here — all sincere, not saccharine. Or “simple yet inspired,” wrote Pamela Paul<\/a><\/strong> at the New York Times<\/em>, who adds that “like so many contemporary monster books for children, it riffs off horror classics past, ensuring that parents will like it equally well.” (You can also read more here<\/a><\/strong> at 32 Pages<\/em>, a WONDERFUL BLOG! I’m yelling that in enthusiasm.)<\/p>\n

Last, but not least, is Susan Hood’s Just Say BOO!<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, released by HarperCollins in July and illustrated by Jed Henry<\/a><\/strong>. Hood writes with a gentle rhythm and pleasing repetition, inviting readers to participate in the story. <\/p>\n

Animator and artist Jed Henry is relatively new to children’s book illustration. What I love about his work here is that he absolutely does not get in the way of the story. And he adds what Publishers Weekly<\/em> calls a “comforting warmth” to the tale, which is all about a trick-or-treating group of children who encounter such things as a scary wind, howling dogs, scary costumes, and more. To each scary moment, they learn to counter it with a loud “BOO!”, which makes this one a great story-time read-aloud. Jed’s not afraid to add menacing shadows to his illustrations, yet it’s never over-the-top and never too threatening, as this is aimed at very young readers. (It strikes me what a good board book it would make, as well.) <\/p>\n

If I may add quickly now: I’ve seen an advanced copy of his January 2013 release, called Cheer Up, Mouse!<\/a><\/em><\/strong> and I love it so. More on that early next year. <\/p>\n

Here are some more of Jed’s Just Say Boo!<\/em> spreads. Enjoy. <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

(Click to enlarge spread)<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

(Click to enlarge spread)<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“If three dinosaurs roar when you open your door, what do you say?”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“BOO!”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center><\/p>\n

THE MONSTERS’ MONSTER. Copyright \u00a9 2012 by Patrick McDonnell. Published by Little, Brown and Company, New York. Spreads reproduced by permission of the publisher.<\/em><\/p>\n

JUST SAY BOO! Copyright \u00a9 2012 by Susan Hood. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2012 by Jed Henry. Published by HarperCollins, New York. Spreads reproduced by permission of Jed Henry.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 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 kickers are always welcome. <\/p>\n

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

Before my kicks … <\/p>\n

Two Notes:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n