{"id":5196,"date":"2020-09-27T00:01:41","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T06:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5196"},"modified":"2020-09-26T14:57:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T20:57:35","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-710-featuring-jaime-zollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5196","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #710: Featuring Jaime Zollars"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nDragons, anyone? <\/p>\n

Jaime Zollars’s<\/a><\/strong> The Truth About Dragons<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Little, Brown, September 2020) is, at heart, a friendship story. More specifically, it’s about the ways in which we perceive others. “The stories about dragons are true,” we read on the first spread: They are a danger. But this is not a book for rushing through; look closely as you turn each page. You’ll see dragons … in mismatched socks. Dragons in the cafeteria. Dragons in a library. Dragons in music class. And, if you look even closer, you’ll see dragons who have turned\u2014or are turning\u2014into classmates. Could it be the first day of school? <\/p>\n

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And that’s really what the story asks\u2014that we each look closely at those around us in order to really<\/em> see one another. And in order to really see one another, we look past our fears. It also reminds us that others may see us, in our worst moments, as dragons too. And, as the School Library Journal<\/em> review points out, it’s also a story about how “sometimes problems appear bigger than they really are and that they can usually be solved.”<\/p>\n

Zollars pulls this off without a heavy hand. Pay close attention to her opening and closing spreads to see the parallels, and when you get a copy of this one in your hands, check out the endpapers (dramatic close-ups of dragon tails). The text here is spare and alliterative (“sometimes they challenge and pick and provoke, and nettle and needle and pester and poke”), and the palette features rich purples, blues, and earth tones. <\/p>\n

Jaime sent some process images and final art below, and I thank her for sharing.
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Jaime: “This is the very first stabs at putting this story into boxes.
These are the first two thumbnail dummies, side by side. The final book has many differences but a few very similar spreads.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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Jaime: “These are some of my second roughs on various little pieces of paper.
These are a bit bigger than the thumbnails but still quite small.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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Jaime: “This is a second rough sketch, followed by a final sketch, the final drawing, and then the final with digital color added! You can see some changes along the way.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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Jaime: “A drawing on my desk of the opening page [the title page spread].”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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A final spread from the book (sans text):
“Dragons roam wild, have terribly sharp teeth, and hunt day and night.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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A final spread from the book (sans text):
“… is that their socks don’t always match.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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(Click cover to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\nTHE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS. Copyright \u00a9 2020 by Jaime Zollars. Published by Little, Brown and Company, New York. All images here reproduced by permission of Jaime Zollars.<\/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’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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1)<\/strong><\/font> Getting past an unusually busy work week on top of coursework for some classes I’m taking\u2014and managing to get it all done. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Operating in the home of Langston Hughes, one of the most important figures of The Harlem Renaissance, the i, Too Arts Collective<\/a><\/strong>, founded by author Ren\u00e9e Watson<\/a><\/strong>, served as a home for underrepresented writers, poets, and musicians. After losing their lease, they gathered to say goodbye to their space and to pay homage to Langston’s memory. This wonderful short film below (Vimeo link is here<\/a><\/strong>) was released just last week. It was directed by Kenneth Sousie and shot by Kenneth Sousie and Catherine Chojnowski:
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