{"id":4743,"date":"2018-10-21T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-21T06:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4743"},"modified":"2018-10-20T19:46:03","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T01:46:03","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-609-featuring-sonja-wimmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4743","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #609: Featuring Sonja Wimmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Princess Lois is a dentist. Not a single child comes to her clinic with fear.
She is married to Princess Maggie. Princess Maggie is a mail carrier.
She loves to deliver postcards from distant lands.”<\/em>
(Click to see spread in its entirety)<\/center>
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\nToday, dear Imps, I’ve some art from an illustrator whose work it always makes me happy to see \u2014 German artist Sonja Wimmer<\/a><\/strong>. On shelves now is Dolores Brown’s The Truly Brave Princesses<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (published by NubeOcho earlier this month), illustrated by Wimmer and a book the Kirkus<\/em> review calls a “not-so-subtle deconstruction of the princess myth.”<\/p>\n

“Perhaps on more than one occasion you’ve seen a princess,” the book opens. “Maybe you didn’t realize she was actually a princess, because at that moment she was not wearing her crown.” Look closely, the book suggests: A princess can be anywhere. And then we are introduced to 18 of them, girls and women of various ethnicities, occupations, and personalities, who are depicted, via word and art, with such delightful idiosyncratic details that you find yourself lingering over each spread.
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(Click to enlarge cover)<\/em><\/center>
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\nWe meet Princess Beatrix, a hairdresser. Princess Neyla is an architect, whose prince is a stay-at-home dad. Princess Agnes is a widow. Princess Alice just got married and proposed to her husband (before he could propose to her). There are single women, single mothers, a girl with a lazy eye (whose slam dunks are terrific, though), a firefighter, a divorced librarian, a woman with Down syndrome, and much more. Wimmer paints them each with a crown on her head (except for Princess Zoe, an astronaut who has retired her crown, now that she “travels through distant space and does not want to be a princess anymore”). Each princess is paired with a profile, stating her name, age, profession (or desired profession, if it’s a girl), and her “loves.” Both author and illustrator are telling readers that being a princess is about finding what you love and doing what brings you joy. Wimmer’s princess portraits, delicately-lined and richly colored, are graceful, eloquent. <\/p>\n

Here are some spreads!
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“Princess Anita does not usually wait for the prince to come home;
it is he who usually waits for her.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Princess Rita has braces and a wonderful smile.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Princess Neyla designs houses to fulfill the dreams of many people.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Princess Kristen is proud to have exactly 47 freckles.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Princess Liang speaks French, German, English and Chinese.
It fascinates her to communicate in different languages.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Princess Nin is a hero. She has saved the lives of many people.<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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THE TRULY BRAVE PRINCESSES. \u00a9 Text: Dolores Brown, 2018. \u00a9 Illustrations: Sonja Wimmer, 2018. \u00a9 Edition: NubeOcho, 2018. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.<\/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> My youngest had a great birthday last weekend.<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> My conversation<\/a><\/strong> with Justice Sonia Sotomayor last weekend at the Southern Festival of Books was fabulous. She is so gracious, and the crowd gathered there to hear her adored<\/em> her. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> The new Doctor and snackin’ on custard creams during last week’s episode.
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\n4)<\/strong><\/font> I love this interview<\/a><\/strong> with Terry Gross but especially how she closes it with Maurice Sendak’s words. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Paul Simon on SNL<\/em> last weekend:
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