{"id":4814,"date":"2019-02-10T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T06:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4814"},"modified":"2019-02-10T09:59:47","modified_gmt":"2019-02-10T15:59:47","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-625-featuring-natalia-colombo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4814","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #625: Featuring Natalia Colombo"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“This is a bird. …”<\/em>
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\nI’ve a Spanish picture book import for you today, dear Imps. Pepe M\u00e1rquez’s Nests<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (StarBerry Books), illustrated by Natalia Colombo<\/a><\/strong>, was originally released in 2013 and will be on shelves in the U.S. next month. <\/p>\n

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This is a story, told in a spare, no-nonsense text, about the various ways in which birds make their nests, which perhaps will prompt children to think about their own homes and those with whom they share it. “[F]or the bird family that calls it home … it’s the best nest in the world,” we read of a family of birds that manages to make a nest in a discarded tuna can (as you can see below). Some nests may be in “dangerous places” \u2014 the mouth of a crocodile, no less, or even under the feet of people rushing by, as we see on the opening endpapers \u2014 and some are in more protected places, such as a field of cacti. But either way they are home for the birds therein. Home, after all, is wherever you lay your hat. Or, well … eggs. <\/p>\n

Colombo uses a palette of primarily saturated oranges and teals here, and the opening spreads (in particular) really show off her talent for drawing quirky yet endearing creatures: in the first spreads, we read about creatures who live on both land and in water before we get to the creatures of the air and their nests. In these opening spreads, some of the creatures are merely outlines and others are painted in (though these particular spreads are not featured here today); they are all for poring over and taking in all the offbeat details. Evidently, Colombo is also a graphic designer, currently lives in Buenos Aires, and has illustrated picture books that have been published all over the world. <\/p>\n

Here are some more spreads. …
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“In nature, there are many creatures.”<\/em>
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“Birds come in all shapes and sizes.”<\/em>
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“Some birds build their nests in very high spots.”<\/em>
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“But for the bird family that calls it home … it’s the best nest in the world.”<\/em>
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NESTS. Edition copyright \u00a9 by Kalandraka Editora, 2013. Text copyright \u00a9 by Pepe M\u00e1rquez, 2013. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 by Natalia Colombo, 2013. Translation copyright \u00a9 2019 by Kane Press, Inc. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, StarBerry Books, 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> I was sorry to hear yesterday about the death of Tomi Ungerer<\/a><\/strong>, but the kick is all the incredible, delightfully strange books he left behind. You can revisit this 2016 post<\/a><\/strong> to see some of his art. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> An entertaining and surprising conversation this week that my co-author and I had with someone who has had a long and storied career in children’s literature. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> I finally got around to starting Broad City<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, which I’ve wanted to do for yeeeears<\/em>, and good god it is funny. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> The comic that Andrea Tsurumi shared in this week’s post about her book<\/a><\/strong>. I want to share it with every child (and, for that matter, adult) I know. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> I discovered that Hayley Heynderickx<\/a><\/strong>, whose music I really like, released an EP<\/a><\/strong> last Fall with a musician named Max Garc\u00eda Conover<\/a><\/strong>. Evidently, they were dropped off — though WHO dropped them off I don’t know — at an organic farm in the middle of nowhere in Spain and were given seven days to get to know each other and write and record an EP. I love how indie hipster this is. Anyway, I am struck, both lyrically and melodically, by this song below (“The Park”), in particular, though all the songs are good. (If you’re so inclined to listen yet this audio won’t play for you below — which may happen, depending on your browser — the YouTube link is here<\/a><\/strong>.)
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