{"id":5254,"date":"2021-01-03T00:01:33","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T06:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5254"},"modified":"2021-01-02T13:28:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T19:28:57","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-724-featuring-stephen-t-johnsonand-romana-romanyshyn-andriy-lesiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5254","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #724: Featuring Stephen T. Johnson
and Romana Romanyshyn & Andriy Lesiv"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u2014 From Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv’s <\/em>Sound: Shhh … Bang … POP … BOOM!<\/center>
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\u2014 From Stephen T. Johnson’s <\/em>Music Is …<\/center>
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\nWho’s up for exploring the world of sound with me today? I’ve got two 2020 picture books here \u2014 Stephen T. Johnson’s<\/a><\/strong> Music Is …<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Paula Wiseman Books\/Simon & Schuster, October 2020) and Romana Romanyshyn’s and Andriy Lesiv’s<\/a><\/strong> Sound: Shhh … Bang … Pop … BOOM!<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Handprint, October 2020). The latter was originally published in Ukraine and is translated by Vitaly Chernetsky. <\/p>\n

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Music Is …<\/em> is an accordion-fold book that presents musical genres \u2013 from classical to pop with a variety of musical styles in between. Johnson (1996 Caldecott Honoree<\/a><\/strong>) boldly defines, in one sentence, each genre on full-bleed spreads that depict dynamic, vividly colored illustrations of instruments for making music (a turntable for the hip-hop spread) and symbolic images (a red barn on the country spread): “Latin is … a kalediscope of passion and emotions that can heat the floor under your feet and expand your mind with color.” Under the genre’s definition is a tune of sorts, some with lyrics and many of them onomatopoeic by nature \u2014 some “MOO-CHA” and “ZUM-BA”s for Latin; “Flip-flop, be-bop, dunk-fizz, plunk-quiz” for jazz; and “Pee-a-knee-see, see-see-me-o” for classical. There is a bright orange line that runs throughout the spreads featuring the genres, connecting all the musical styles and providing a kind of sonic rhythm for the book as a whole. <\/p>\n

When you are done reading about the musical genres, you literally unfold the book to read what is on the other side of the accordion fold \u2014 supplemental information and an author’s note. The supplemental material includes more details about each genre, the instruments typically used, and examples of each style. There are also quotes from distinguished musicians of each genre (Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne, DJ Kool Herc, etc.). The book also includes an extensive bibliography. In Johnson’s author’s note, he emphasizes that music is, “at least for me, about play,” adding that play is the “heartbeat of this book” and was its impetus. That exuberant sense of play is undoubtedly expressed here in both the energetic, lively illustrations and the poetic, vigorous text. It’s a completely accessible book for music-lovers (of all ages), and it’s abundantly fun to explore, especially given the book’s accordion format (pictured below). <\/p>\n

Sound: Shhh … Bang … Pop … BOOM!<\/em> comes from collaborators Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv<\/a><\/strong>. (In 2015, guest poster Oksana Lushchevska wrote here<\/a><\/strong> at 7-Imp about Romanyshyn’s and Lesiv’s The War that Changed Rondo<\/em>.) This is a playful visual exploration of all things aural (but also, as you will soon read, the absence of aural) \u2014 from the inner workings of an ear to the meaning of decibels and herz; to musical instruments; to what voice means (“We all have our unique ways of sounding”); to the sounds our bodies, our homes, our cities, nature, and animals make; and much more. There is even a spread, following one devoted to the sounds we speak (languages), all about how “languages are not just about sounds. You can also understand another person in silence.” (Yay! says this former sign language intepreter.) <\/p>\n

One thing I love about this book is that it’s many things at once: science, philosophy, and \u2014 given the occasionally lyrical, evocative text \u2014 poetry. The final spreads touch upon the need for humans to sometimes “spend time in silence, completely turning off the noise.” As you can see, Romanyshyn and Lesiv provide a wide-ranging view of sound. The palette, popping with neon colors, is a delight, and the compositions are eye-catching; there’s a lot to pore over here, and visually the pair keeps us on our toes. I love how the School Library Journal<\/em> review notes: “This book is a deliberate visual project, as much an experiment in graphic design as a representation of its subject.” <\/p>\n

Below are some spreads from each book, and Stephen even shares a couple of work-in-progress images from his. Many thanks to him for sharing. <\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n


 

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From Stephen T. Johnson’s Music Is …<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/center>
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Title page spread<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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“CLASSICAL is … soft harmonies of butterfly wings fluttering on a whispering breeze
or distant rolling thunder that gives rise to a loud thunderous boom! …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge;
click here<\/a><\/strong> to read the book’s backmatter on classical music)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“JAZZ is … sophisticated rhythms that go up and down,
move left and move right, then jump high and swing low. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“COUNTRY is … poignant stories of home, mama,
pickup trucks, and apple pie. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge;
click here<\/a><\/strong> to read the book’s backmatter on country music)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“ELECTRONICA is … liquid sound cascading over an endless sea
of happy, neon-colored faces. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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Stephen: “These are two working book dummies displayed on my studio floor, midway through creating the book. Seen here are the front and backside of the accordion for the larger book dummy and a pocket size version below right.
By the way, it unfolds to a little over 23 feet!”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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Stephen: “These are pen-and-ink and wash drawings.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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Stephen: “This shows the book’s accordion format.”<\/em>
(Click image to enlarge)<\/center>
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From Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv’s
Sound: Shhh … Bang … POP … BOOM!<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“In the beginning it may have been quiet.
But then it became loud. The universe filled with sounds.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge and see spread in its entirety)<\/center>
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“Sound is usually invisible. But it attracts our attention,
we listen for it \u2014 and then, we hear it.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“There are so many different sounds:
loud and soft, high and low, familiar and new.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“In the sea of unknown and unknown sounds,
we look for order and harmony. This is how music is born.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“There are countless instruments that can be used to create music …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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“We all have our unique ways of sounding. This is our voice. …”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge and read text in its entirety)<\/center>
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\nMUSIC IS … \u00a9 2020 by Stephen T. Johnson. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Paula Wiseman\/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York. Preliminary images reproduced by permission of Stephen T. Johnson.<\/em><\/p>\n

SOUND: SHHH … BANG … POP … BOOM! Original text and illustrations copyright \u00a9 2017 by Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva Ltd. Translation by Vitaly Chernetsky \u00a9 2017 Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva Ltd. First published in the United States in 2020 by Chronicle Books LLC. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Chronicle Books, San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
<\/center><\/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

1)<\/strong><\/font> Reading this poem<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> My sixteen-year-old daughter sewed me a Pokko<\/a><\/strong> for Christmas!
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3)<\/strong><\/font> Whenever I hear something gross I’d rather not think about, I sing a song I made up called “Kitties on Rainbows, Eating Cupcakes.” (That’s the extent of the lyrics.) For Christmas, my fifteen-year-old daughter made me a drawing of kitties on rainbows, eating cupcakes. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> This is excellent, and the animation is gorgeous:
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5)<\/strong><\/font> Eisha (who co-founded this blog with me) was in town, and we got to see each other the masked, socially distanced way. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> I was sad to hear about the death of Tony Rice<\/a><\/strong>, but I’m grateful he was here and made the music he did. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> The coronavirus made its way to one of my good friends and one of my favorite people on the planet (who is sooo careful \u2014 hardly goes out and is always masked), but she recovered just fine. I hope all of you reading this are staying safe and healthy. <\/p>\n

BONUS:<\/strong><\/font> From December 14, 2020, to January 6, 2021, the Illustrators Wall from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is available online in a special \u201cSeason\u2019s Greetings Edition\u201d \u2014 with 800 participants from five continents. Head here<\/a><\/strong> to see all the art. <\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? Oh, and happy 2021 to all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014 From Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv’s Sound: Shhh … Bang … POP … BOOM!   \u2014 From Stephen T. Johnson’s Music Is …   Who’s up for exploring the world of sound with me today? I’ve got two 2020 picture books here \u2014 Stephen T. Johnson’s Music Is … (Paula Wiseman Books\/Simon & Schuster, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nonfiction","category-picture-books","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}