{"id":4661,"date":"2018-06-24T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-24T06:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4661"},"modified":"2018-06-23T19:02:29","modified_gmt":"2018-06-24T01:02:29","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-592-featuring-anne-hunter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4661","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #592: Featuring Anne Hunter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Possum climbed down. A chipmunk hopped by. ‘Where’s your brush pile?’ she squeaked. ‘Gone,’ sighed Possum, ‘washed away.’ ‘Oh! Bad luck,’ the chipmunk sympathized.
‘I could help you dig a new home,’ she offered. ‘Dig?’ he asked. ‘Yes, you know,’ she said. ‘We’ll dig a bedroom, bathroom, larder …’ Possum’s eyes widened.
‘Yes,’ said Possum. ‘That sounds very nice.'”<\/em>
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\nToday, author-illustrator Anne Hunter<\/a><\/strong> visits 7-Imp again (she also visited early last year<\/a><\/strong> and, in fact, gave a sneak-peek at this book back then) to share some preliminary images and final art from Possum and the Summer Storm<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 2018). This is the story of Possum and his family, finding themselves homeless after a thunderstorm. There’s not a brush pile in sight after the heavy winds and rains. “Don’t worry, children,” Possum says. “We’ll find a new home.” <\/p>\n

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Various animals in the forest \u2014 a chipmunk, a muskrat, a wasp, and an oriole \u2014 chip in to help and eventually figure out how to fashion a new home for the Possum family. I love to see Anne’s watercolors and am pleased she’s stopped by 7-Imp to share some. And I think this story of reaching out to help those in need is just what we need to read right about now. <\/p>\n

Anne is just finishing her next book, Where’s Baby?<\/em>, coming from Tundra Books in 2020. She describes it as having a style that has “been lurking in the wings for years, and I finally did it.” But for now, let’s take a look at Possum<\/em> …
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Some Early Sketches:<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/center>
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Sketch of page one<\/em>
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Cover sketch<\/em>
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Some Final Art:<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/center>
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“Thunder crashed. Wind howled.
The possum family watched as the creek rose.”<\/em>
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“‘Hang on tight, children!’ Possum yelled as
their brush pile home was swept downstream.”<\/em>
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“A wasp flew by. ‘What’s happening here?’ she buzzed.
‘Possum’s brush pile washed away,’ answered the muskrat.
‘He needs help building a new home.’
‘I can make a comb of chewed wood and saliva. It might make nice windows,’
said the wasp, and she set to work.”<\/em>
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“As they stood admiring the wasp’s delicate handiwork, an oriole flew in.
‘I heard there was some building going on and thought
you might need my help,’ he sang. ‘Everyone knows a nest is best!
Why sleep on the damp ground when you could swing in a nest! Let me show you!”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread, which is sans art)<\/center>
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\nPOSSUM AND THE SUMMER STORM. Copyright \u00a9 2018 by Anne Hunter. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. All images used by permission of Anne Hunter.<\/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> You all have seen this by now, right? <\/p>\n