{"id":4017,"date":"2016-03-20T00:01:19","date_gmt":"2016-03-20T06:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4017"},"modified":"2016-03-19T20:39:42","modified_gmt":"2016-03-20T02:39:42","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-475-featuring-cecile-gambini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4017","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #475: Featuring C\u00e9cile Gambini"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Don’t I look like a living painting? …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text)<\/center>
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\nNext month will see the U.S. publication of a book called Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, written by Bernadette Pourqui\u00e9<\/a><\/strong> and illustrated by C\u00e9cile Gambini<\/a><\/strong> (Princeton Architectural Press). It was a book first published in France, evidently the winner of the Prix Versailles Lire Au Jardin. The Kirkus<\/em> review calls it a “charmingly illustrated but odd French import.”<\/p>\n

The book features sixteen real but unusual trees, who speak directly to the reader in a first-person voice. There’s the cocoa tree, which Pourqui\u00e9 calls the “Chocolate Tree” and gives you cocoa paste; the Davidia<\/a><\/strong> or “Ghost Tree” (with its white leaves that “look like lightweight white sheets floating on the breeze”), pictured below; the multicolored Mindanao Gum Tree<\/a><\/strong> or “Rainbow Tree,” pictured above; and more. Each tree “speaks” in a chatty, accessible voice and is accompanied on the right side of each page by a full-page illustration. (I’ve got some of them featured below, but please do click on each one to see the text, as well as the ornate borders of each spread.) <\/p>\n

The book lacks sources or any sort of backmatter — and, if you’re interested to read it, the full Kirkus<\/em> review<\/strong><\/a> is here. (It’s the only professional review I could find and, I think, captures the book well.) I wanted to share a bit of art from the book today; they are vividly illustrated paintings, some with a magical quality all their own. <\/p>\n

Enjoy. <\/p>\n


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“Anyone who tries to take shelter under me is going to get soaked! …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text)<\/center>
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“You get up from bed, convinced that specters only come out at night. …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text)<\/center>
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“You’re trapped! You already put your fingers on my page! …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text)<\/center>
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“Hey! Watch where you put your feet.
Do not crush me when we meet! …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text)<\/center>
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STRANGE TREES: AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM. Text by Bernadette Pourqui\u00e9. Illustrations by C\u00e9cile Gambini. Illustrations used by permission of the publisher, Princeton Architectural Press, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

1)<\/strong><\/font> Yesterday, I had a nice, long visit with a dear friend. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> I am not at South by Southwest<\/a><\/strong> (which I’ve always<\/em> wanted to do). But my favorite music podcast<\/a><\/strong> has been covering it like the pros they are, and I’ve been listening all week. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> When my 12-year-old hums songs when she thinks no one is listening. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> The Beatles Pandora station. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> My girls and I are reading a stack of particularly good children’s novels right now. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> I enjoyed the #WhyISign meme on social media this past week. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> At story time at Parnassus Books yesterday, I said, “I’m going to read one more book,” and a preschooler declared out of the blue, “IT’S CALLED THE MONKEYS ON THE TRUCK!”<\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Don’t I look like a living painting? …”(Click to enlarge and read text)   Next month will see the U.S. publication of a book called Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them, written by Bernadette Pourqui\u00e9 and illustrated by C\u00e9cile Gambini (Princeton Architectural Press). It was a book first published in France, evidently the winner […]<\/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-4017","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\/4017","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=4017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}