{"id":4480,"date":"2017-10-29T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2017-10-29T06:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4480"},"modified":"2017-10-28T18:11:28","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T00:11:28","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-558-featuring-maya-christina-gonzalez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4480","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #558: Featuring Maya Christina Gonzalez"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“… cuando conozco a alguien \/ me sonrojo t\u00edmido como \/ Marte en martes \/
when I meet someone new \/ I turn red like Mars \/ on Tuesday …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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\nIf you’re having trouble waking up this morning, today’s illustrations from Maya Christina Gonzalez<\/a><\/strong> might just do the trick. I’ve got here today some of her bright, vivid artwork for Francisco X. Alarc\u00f3n’s<\/a><\/strong> Family Poems for Every Day of the Week \/ Poemas familiares para cada dia de la semana<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Children’s Book Press \/ Lee & Low Books, October 2017). <\/p>\n

These are poems, published posthumously (the award-winning Alarc\u00f3n died last year), celebrating family and community for each day of the week. Evidently, the entries are based on Alarc\u00f3n’s own childhood experiences with his family. Each entry is published in both Spanish and English, including the fascinating opening author’s note about the days of the week and how their names came about. The book’s playful font and typography keep readers on their toes, and the poems strike various tones. “I can barely open \/ the shut oysters \/ of my sleep eyes” on Mondays, Alarc\u00f3n writes, yet Saturdays are joyous: “I feel thrilled and free \/ like a hummingbird \/ in the Garden of Eden.” <\/p>\n

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It’s a book that celebrates—and from a child’s perspective—family traditions and gatherings. But it also celebrates down time. Sundays, for instance, are for family (including the grandparents) and, therefore, “it’s always sunny \/ on Sunday.” Gonzalez’s patterned, detailed artwork is rendered in watercolor, gouache, and acrylic markers. In an opening Illustrator’s Note, she talks about her repeated use of circles (and why) in the book, relating it to the sad passing of Alarc\u00f3n in 2016: “When I returned to the imagery, I realized I had been charting a path for Francisco’s return, through his family, back to the heart of the sun all along. Circle upon circle.” <\/p>\n

Here are a couple more spreads:
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“… al mediod\u00eda a\u00fan estoy \/ so\u00f1ando con la Luna \/ el lunes \/
at noon I’m still \/ daydreaming on the Moon \/ on Monday …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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“… hasta el azul del cielo \/ parece mucho m\u00e1s azul \/ el s\u00e1bado \/
even the blue of the sky \/ seems a lot bluer \/ on Saturday …”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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\nFAMILY POEMS FOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK \/ POEMAS FAMILIARES PARA CADA DIA DE LA SEMANA. Copyright \u00a9 2015 by Francisco X. Alarc\u00f3n. Illustrations \u00a9 2017 by Maya Christina Gonzalez and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Children’s Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc., New York.<\/em><\/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>
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1)<\/strong><\/font> Dean Dinners … <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> And being this week in my friend’s house after she’s gone — right when I was missing her. It was good for the soul. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> This profile<\/a><\/strong> of author Jason Reynolds. His new book gave me goosebumps. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Story time (at Parnassus Books) where my friend’s kindergartner showed, two other toddlers wandered off (as toddlers are wont to do at story time), and so that left just me and my kindergartner friend, one on one. Score!<\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Passionate booksellers who recommend books to my daughters. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> A weekend of binge TV. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> Best for last: I was feeling disgusted at the beginning of the weekend over plans White Supremacists had to march in the public square of the city I live in. But then look what happened<\/a><\/strong>. Proud of Murfreesboro. <\/p>\n

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

“… cuando conozco a alguien \/ me sonrojo t\u00edmido como \/ Marte en martes \/when I meet someone new \/ I turn red like Mars \/ on Tuesday …”(Click to enlarge spread)   If you’re having trouble waking up this morning, today’s illustrations from Maya Christina Gonzalez might just do the trick. I’ve got here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,26,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-nonfiction","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480","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=4480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}