Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“The dream wished it was longer.”
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You can read my review over at BookPage of Mượn Thị Văn’s unforgettable refugee tale, Wishes (Orchard, April 2021), illustrated by Victo Ngai. That review is here.

Here today at 7-Imp are some spreads. …

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“Girls and boys come out to play …”
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It’s good to see a new picture book that gives us a fresh look at Mother Goose rhymes — it’s not exactly a heyday now in the picture book world for traditional tales — and it’s also good to see a new book from Tracey Campbell Pearson (who is responsible for the very funny Bob and a handful of other well-crafted books).

I’m looking at an F&G of Tracey’s Girls and Boys Come Out to Play (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, April 2021), which is to say that not everything here is quite glued down. But it looks like the endpapers (both opening and closing) feature a short series of Mother Goose rhymes — “Hey, Diddle, Diddle”; “Humpty Dumpty”; “Jack and Jill”; and more. On the title page spread we see a young child reading a book of nursery rhymes, cat snuggling nearby and younger sibling on the floor, dozing next to the dog. And the next spread depicts nursery rhyme characters sitting on a brick wall. Will we see them throughout the book? On the opening spread (pictured above), there is the grand dame herself. Mother Goose stands on a rooftop. “Girls and boys come out to play,” we read.

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“With one step, I move away from the familiar. With another step, I walk into the unknown. Hand in hand, we stand strong. Bravely, through the dark, narrow
throat of the beast, we enter its belly where we will take flight to new adventures.”
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Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I had the opportunity to talk to author Hannah Carmona about her newest picture book, Anita and the Dragons (Lantana, April 2021). As you will read at our chat, which is here, it’s a story of emigration, based on her own mother’s experience of moving from the Dominican Republic to the U.S.

Today here at 7-Imp, I’ve some spreads from the book, illustrated by Anna Cunha.

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“Outside, crickets chirped in corners of the garden.
The summer air smelled of irises and honeysuckle.”
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I’ve a review over at BookPage of Marie Dorléans’s eloquent The Night Walk (Floris, April 2021), originally published in French and translated by Polly Lawson.

The review is here, and here today at 7-Imp are some spreads.

Enjoy!

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Title page spread
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I’ve got a review over at the Horn Book of Corey R. Tabor’s Mel Fell (Balzer + Bray, February 2021), a book that makes me want to snap my fingers and instantly appear in a story time somewhere — because sharing this book will make a child’s day. (Instantly appearing in a story time may actually frighten the poor children, so I’ll be sure to ease into it.)

That review is here if you’d like to read all about the book. Corey also visits today to talk about the book’s genesis and how he created the illustrations for it. I loved reading all about the making of this one, and I’m pleased to share it with 7-Imp readers. Big thanks to Corey for sharing.

Let’s get to it …

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I’ve a review over at BookPage of Bird House (Abrams, April 2021) by author-illustrator Blanca Gómez. It is a beauty, and you can read why over there. The review is here.

Below are some spreads. A Spanish edition of the book is also being released. See here!

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“And so it came to be that the big house and the little house lived next to each other. Every morning Little Mouse and Big Bear said ‘Good morning!’ to each other
and went to work. Little Mouse to town, and Big Bear to the forest.”
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Let’s take a look at a Japanese picture book import, originally published in 2012. Yoshi Ueno’s The Big House and the Little House (Levin Querido), illustrated by Emiko Fujishima, arrived on U.S. shelves last month.

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“Let your roots curl,
coil in the soil to ground you.”
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Author Maria Gianferrari and illustrator Felicita Sala would have you be a tree — and have some compelling reasons for you doing so. Be a Tree! (Abrams) is on shelves now.

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“SHHH, it will hear you.”
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A turtle. An armadillo. A snake. An alien creature. And some hats, of course.

It’s my review of Jon Klassen’s newest (and very funny) book, The Rock from the Sky (Candlewick, April 2021), over at the Horn Book.

That review is here, and below are some spreads.

Enjoy!

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” … seen a flower?”
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Wanna look with me at some spreads from Shawn Harris’s Have You Ever Seen a Flower?, coming to shelves next month from Chronicle Books? It will wake you right up, this book suffused with joy and wonder. The book’s electric colors may even negate your need for coffee this morning.

Let’s take a look. …

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