Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Maya placed a new can of fish in her pocket and set out to find Cat’s home.
Cat followed politely behind.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
There are a lot — truly, a LOT — of picture books in the world about lost animals finding a new home, often with the protagonist of the story, ready and waiting for a new furry friend. That’s what we have (sort of) in Caroline Magerl’s newest picture book, Maya and the Lost Cat (Candlewick) — originally published in Australia in 2018 and on shelves here in the U.S. in early May. This one stands out for the strong writing and Magerl’s distinctive watercolor illustrations.

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— From Kyle Lukoff’s When Aidan Became a Brother,
illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

 

— From Isabel Quintero’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle,
illustrated by Zeke Peña

 

— From Hyeon-Ju Lee’s
The Happiest Tree: A Story of Growing Up

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got the newest picture book from author-illustrator Susan L. Roth.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Hyeon-Ju Lee’s The Happiest Tree: A Story of Growing Up (Feiwel and Friends, April 2019); Isabel Quintero’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Kokila, May 2019), illustrated by Zeke Peña; and Kyle Lukoff’s When Aidan Became a Brother (Lee & Low, May 2019), illustrated by Kaylani Juanita. I’m following up with art from each book today.

Enjoy!

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“‘Climb on,’ said the lion in a deep, gentle voice. …”

 
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned this BookPage feature about, in part, David Zeltser’s The Night Library (Random House, April 2019), illustrated by Raúl Colón.

Here today is a bit of art from the book.

Enjoy!

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Over at BookPage is a piece I wrote about Music for Mister Moon (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, March 2019)), written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, and David Zeltser’s The Night Library (Random House, April 2019), illustrated by Raúl Colón. That is here, if you’d like to read about both books.

I’ll have some art another day this week from The Night Library, but today I’ve got some preliminary images and final spreads from Erin from Music for Mister Moon. I thank her for sharing.

Note: To read more about the book and how Erin created the illustrations, head here.

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I’m sending you to the Horn Book’s site this morning for a review I wrote of Deborah Freedman’s Carl and the Meaning of Life (Viking, April 2019). How about that wonderful title?

The review is here, if you’re so inclined to read it.

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“At church, Daddy points to the spot where he and Uncle Jay
performed a duet on trombone and trumpet. …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in it entirety)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got three new picture books that are about, in one way or another, family.

That is here.

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Speaking of family, last week I wrote here about Kelly Starling Lyons’ Going Down Home with Daddy (Peachtree, April 2019), illustrated by Daniel Minter. Today in this follow-up post, I’ve some spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I have a chat with author Kerry Madden-Lunsford, whose new picture book is called Ernestine’s Milky Way (Schwartz & Wade, March 2019) and is illustrated by Emily Sutton. You can give me a picture book set in the Great Smoky Mountains any day.

The interview is over here at the wonderful Chapter 16 site, and here at 7-Imp today I have some of Emily’s spreads from the book.

Enjoy!

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“Drowsy contentment. Cool night air. We’re cuddled in the rocking chair.
Familiar lullabies to croon. This gentle time, our babymoon.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Hayley Barrett’s Babymoon, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal. That is here if you’d like to read about the book.

I’ve got a few spreads from the book here today, and BONUS! Juana shares different versions of sketches for one spread. I’m tellin’ ya … I could look at her beautiful sketches all day. Here’s what she said about it: Read the rest of this entry �

— From Lorena Alvarez’s Hicotea

 

— From Mordicai Gerstein’s I Am Hermes!

 

— From Ivan Brunetti’s Comics: Easy as ABC!

 
At Kirkus today, I’ve got a visually rich new picture book about celebrating family.

That is here.

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Over at Kirkus last week, I wrote here about Lorena Alvarez’s Hicotea: A Nightlights Story (Nobrow, March 2019); Mordicai Gerstein’s I Am Hermes!: Mischief-Making Messenger of the Gods (Holiday House, April 2019), and Comics: Easy as ABC!: The Essential Guide to Comics for Kids (April 2019) from TOON Books and Ivan Brunetti (and other comics artists). Today, I’ve got some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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To call the humor in David Elliot’s Oink understated is … well, an understatement. For instance, the book’s big joke (which is exceedingly funny in its restraint) hinges on a few small wavy lines from Elliot. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, the basics. …

Oink is a picture book import from New Zealand; it looks like it published there in 2018 and is now on shelves here in the States, thanks to Gecko Press. David Elliot, in fact, lives there and is not to be confused with the talented American David (with two “t”s) Elliott.

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