{"id":4791,"date":"2019-01-13T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-13T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4791"},"modified":"2019-01-13T10:33:56","modified_gmt":"2019-01-13T16:33:56","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-621-featuring-john-burningham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4791","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #621: Featuring John Burningham"},"content":{"rendered":"


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— Illustration above is from <\/em>Mouse House, originally released in the UK in 2017<\/em><\/center>
\nI was sorry to hear this week about the death of British illustrator John Burningham<\/a><\/strong>, whose picture books have brought me so much joy over the years. He was an immensely talented artist and my very favorite. I’ve read many tributes to him this week \u2014 my favorite has been illustrator Polly Dunbar<\/a><\/strong>, saying in this piece<\/a><\/strong> that his paintings are ones that “make me want to run barefoot, outside, after dark” \u2014 and feel at a loss for words to describe what it was about his artwork that I found so dynamic. <\/p>\n

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But I can try<\/em> to ascribe words to it: I think perhaps, for me, it boils down to his style and his deep respect for child audiences. As for the latter, in the aforelinked piece, he is quoted as saying: <\/p>\n

“I would say that [children] know one\u2019s on their side. Children are not less intelligent, they\u2019re just less experienced, and there is this rather silly attitude that can be adopted, that \u2018Oh it\u2019s for children, it\u2019s got to be pink coloured cakes or lots of pattern everywhere, that\u2019s what they\u2019ll like\u2019, and they\u2019re bored. And if they don\u2019t like it they simply won\u2019t look at it.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As for his mixed media style, I love the element of surprise in a Burningham book. I love how you can turn the page and go from bright paintings of his child protagonists to richly textured, dramatic landscapes and panoramas; think of the twists and turns Santa takes in Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present<\/em> (one of my favorite picture books any<\/em> time of year) and the stark, beautiful landscapes therein. (Over a decade ago, I wrote here<\/a><\/strong> about my abiding love for this book.) I love how in this Guardian<\/em> obituary<\/strong><\/a> it is noted that Burningham “[applied] bursts of car paint spray and swipes of boot polish” to the illustrations for Borka<\/em>, his debut book. From spread to spread, the textures can vary wildly, almost as if you are reading more than one book, but it always works<\/em>. He always kept you on your toes. He consistently kept things, visually, very exciting. And his words and art were terrifically child-centered, reverence be damned; he was always on the side of the child and never talked down to young readers. Wrote Maurice Sendak in 2008: “Your work, John, is stunning, luscious, sexy, hilarious and mysterious and frequently just plain nuts.”<\/p>\n

I have spent a lot of time this week looking through this beautiful book<\/a><\/strong> and falling in love with his artwork all over again:
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\nPictured below are some illustrations from Mouse House<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, his most recent book, released by Candlewick last September. It is a tribute to the large hearts and generosity of children.
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“One evening, the boy is on his way to bed when he says,
‘Look, there’s a mouse.'”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread)<\/center>
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(Click second image to see spread in its entirety)<\/em><\/center>
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\nPenguin Random House UK released this statement<\/a><\/strong> last week, and it includes the happy news that Burningham’s final picture book, Mr. Gumpy\u2019s Rhino<\/em>, will be published this August by Jonathan Cape, an imprint of Penguin Random House Children\u2019s. <\/p>\n

May Burningham rest in peace. <\/p>\n

MOUSE HOUSE. Copyright \u00a9 2017 by John Burningham. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.<\/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> The number of times I read Burningham’s Hushabye<\/a><\/strong><\/em> to my own daughters when they were very young. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Just for kicks, my youngest daughter learned this<\/a><\/strong> below on piano. It is beautiful to hear her play it.
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