{"id":5333,"date":"2021-05-02T00:01:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T06:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5333"},"modified":"2021-05-02T08:16:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T14:16:19","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-741-featuring-rascal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5333","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #741: Featuring Rascal"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nPablo<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Gecko Press, May 2021), a small, square concept piece from Belgian author-illustrator Rascal<\/a><\/strong>, is a French import, originally published in 2019 and translated by Antony Shugaar. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When we first meet Pablo, all nestled in his shell and not quite ready to face the world, he is asleep: “Ssshhhhh! (This is the last night he’ll be in his shell.)” In the morning \u2014 and this is fabulous \u2014 he has “a small croissant and a hot chocolate” for breakfast. Mind you, we still just see a darkly colored egg, sitting in the sun. Pablo knows he needs to come out of his shell, but he’s “a little bit scared.” Bit by bit and ever so slowly, as you can see in the selection of spreads below, he emerges, experiencing what his senses tell him about the world around him (“the smell of the soil and the perfume of flowers”). First, a “little tiny hole.” Then a second. Then a third. Then one for his beak. Then a leg pops out. And eventually, his wings. <\/p>\n

The book, paced perfectly for the preschool audience at which it’s aimed, features simple designs: Pablo is encased in his egg, and when his eyes and beak emerge, they are basic circular and diamond shapes (also featured on the appealing opening and closing endpapers). The palette is mere black on white \u2014 but with an eye-catching surprise at the end (featured below!). <\/p>\n

A study in the courage of children \u2014 er, chicks! \u2014 this one is a keeper. Here are some spreads. …
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\n<\/a>
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“Pablo is asleep. Ssshhhhh! (This is the last night he’ll be in his shell.)”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“Since he’s a little bit scared, Pablo starts with a little tiny hole.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“Pablo wants to know more, so he pecks a third tiny hole.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“Pablo pecks a fifth tiny hole for his beak. He disovers the smell of the soil
and the perfume of flowers.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“He’d like to wander around, so Pablo pecks a sixth small hole to stick out a leg.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“So he can fly, he pecks an eighth hole for a wing.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“An eighth hole followed by a ninth hole. Pablo takes off. He flies. He’s not scared now!
The only thing left is to get rid of his shell.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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“Still, Pablo decides to save one small piece … for a rainy day.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n<\/a>
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(Click cover to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\nPABLO. Text and illustrations by Rascal \u00a9 2019, l’\u00e9cole des loisirs, Paris. English-language edition \u00a9 Gecko Press Ltd 2021. Translation \u00a9 Antony Shugaar 2021. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Gecko Press.<\/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> Walks. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Sunshine. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> This tweet<\/a><\/strong> from Jon Klassen. <\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Surprises in the mail. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Jet packs. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> Fully vaccinated. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> Yay, science!<\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pablo (Gecko Press, May 2021), a small, square concept piece from Belgian author-illustrator Rascal, is a French import, originally published in 2019 and translated by Antony Shugaar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","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=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}