Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

My Kirkus column for this week goes up tomorrow, as usual — not today. (Yup, I’m posting a bit early, but I wanted to go ahead and share some art today.) Tomorrow’s column, which will be here in the morning, will be about the new picture book biography of Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, written by Shana Corey with artwork from debut illustrator Hadley Hooper. Low was the founder of the Girl Scouts, and I like this book — thank goodness for Shana Corey’s devotion to picture book biographies about remarkable women. So, more on that tomorrow.

In last week’s column, I took a look at some illustrated books I’m eager to see in 2012. One of those books mentioned was D.B. Johnson’s Magritte’s Marvelous Hat. (An illustration from that opens this post.) Even though it’s scheduled to be released in April by Houghton Mifflin (yikes, sorry I’m posting this so early — I just get excited), I was able to see an F & G of the book. And then I contacted Don about sharing some art and early sketches from it.

In last week’s column, I also mentioned a 2012 YA title (Vaunda Micheaux Nelson’s No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller), illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, which I’m eager to see. But this week I’ve got some artwork from another of Christie’s upcoming illustrated titles, Don Tate’s It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw (also scheduled for an April release, this one from Lee & Low Books). This is especially fitting, since very recently Don joined me for a breakfast interview and talked about this book. (A spread from that book is also pictured above.)

I haven’t read It Jes’ Happened yet, but as I said, I did read Don’s book, so here’s a bit more about it, followed by lots of art from both books. (Clear as mud?) Thanks to both Don and Greg for sharing art today.

First up, Don’s book …

This playful picture book reminds me of one of the many reasons I love Don’s work: He is not afraid to tackle subject matter in picture books that most people would stay away from. (Case in point: See his response at my ’09 interview with him to the “What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?” Pivot question.) Truly, he always gets me excited about the picture book form, given his vibrant (and often kaleidoscopic) artwork and his refusal to condescend to child readers — by giving them smart, captivating books.

In this mixed-media title, Don gets very 3D on us, and the results are straight up exciting.

The book, a tribute to surrealist artist René Magritte, includes a world that, as Don notes in the closing Author’s Note, is inspired by Magritte’s paintings. (I’m glad to have some art here today to show you a bit of what it’s like, since explaining it is not impossible, but challenging.) Several moments in the book include partly-illustrated plastic overlay pages that, when turned, reveal a whole, new surrealist twist on the tale. Don sent an animated image that demonstrates this. (If you are looking at this image and it’s not moving, refresh this page and you’ll see it do its thing).

Yes, it actually does splash on his face and disappear from the painting, given that overlay page — an instance of a squeal-inducing page turn, for sure, for child readers. (Or, okay, readers like me, who are nearly forty years old.)

As you can see, this is a canine Magritte and he finds much inspiration in this hat, but I don’t want to give too much away, especially since I’m posting about this months before its release date.

Here are some more images, followed by the illustrations from R. Gregory Christie from It Jes’ Happened. Thanks again to both illustrators for sharing.

MAGRITTE’S MARVELOUS HAT. Copyright © 2012 D.B. Johnson. Published by Houghton Mifflin, New York. Images reproduced by permission of D.B. Johnson.

IT JES’ HAPPENED: WHEN BILL TRAYLOR STARTED TO DRAW. Copyright © 2012 Don Tate. Illustration © 2012 R. Gregory Christie. Published by Lee & Low, New York. Images reproduced by permission of R. Gregory Christie.